Health: Computer Users, Carpal Tunnel ....

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Computer Users, Carpal Tunnel Begins in Your Neck Not in Your Wrist

By Pamela Adams D.C.

 

If Carpal Tunnel Syndrome comes from typing on the computer all day,

why didn't people who typed on typewriters get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Because there were no computer screens to draw their heads forward,

chins tilted up, necks strained. Typewriters were placed lower than

desks and typists tilted their heads down not forward.

 

The culprit in Carpal Tunnel pain, the Median nerve, exits the spinal

cord from the lower part of your neck, travels through neck muscles

under the collar bone to the front of your shoulder bone, then makes

its way down your arm, past your elbow to your wrist where it passes

through the Carpal Tunnel and into your hand.

 

That's a long way to go, and the nerve can be pinched anywhere along

the route causing pain in your wrist and numbness in your hand and

fingers. The very first and most common place it gets pinched is in

your neck. You can wear a wrist brace, buy wrist rests, get an

ergonomically correct keyboard, take painkillers, or have surgery and

it won't help until you change the position of your head when you

work at the computer.

 

Of course, it's not only computer workers who suffer from Carpal

Tunnel symptoms. According to research from the Occupational Health

Project at the University of Maryland, workers in the following

occupations are most likely to develope the syndrome:

 

1. Assembler

2. Laborer--non-construction

3. Packaging-and-filling-machine operators

4. Janitors and cleaners

5. Butchers and meat cutters

6. Data entry keyers

 

What is the common-denominator among these occupations? Workers must

hold their heads forward and down and reach outwards with one or both

arms repeatedly.

 

Learn to keep your head on straight, whatever you do. If your head is

supported by your spinal column and not the poor, overworked muscles

of your neck and upper back; if you position yourself so that you

don't have to reach with your arm, you'll go along way towards

relieving and preventing symptoms.

 

Here are some suggestions for computer users:

 

1. The computer monitor must be placed directly in front of you. The

top of the monitor should be no higher than eye level.

2. Keyboards should be placed low, so that arms can hang at your

sides with foreams at right angles to upper arms and wrists straight.

3. Feet are flat on the floor; weight is on the sitting bones. There

should be a slight arch in your low back.

4. Your breastbone should be lifted, creating a lengthened space

between the navel and breastbone. This brings your head back to an

aligned position.

5. Placement of the mouse should be as close to the body as possible

so there's no reaching. It's better to use a ball, because fingers are

designed for small, precise movements, shoulders are not.

6. A timer set to ring every fifteen minutes or half-hour is a good

way to check on your posture.

7. Sleep on your back, not sides, until symptoms subside. Use a flat,

thin pillow.

 

The following exercise is meant to be done once every hour during the

day, and, lastly, in bed just before sleep: Lying on your back with

hands clasped behind your head, elbows resting on the floor or bed,

tuck your chin into your neck as if to make a double chin. Keeping the

chin tucked in, gently press your head back into your hands. Hold for

a count of ten. Then relax your chin and neck and take a couple of

deep breaths. Do a total of three presses in a set. Do one set only

every hour.

 

Improving the way you use your computer will alleviate and prevent

pain, yes, but it will also greatly improve your productivity. Muscle

tension is gone and fatigue with it; oxygen flows to your brain and

fuels every bodily function; breathing is easier; energy is high.

Simply put...work is less work.

-=-

 

©2003. Pamela Adams, chiropractor and yoga instructor, is the author

of " Dr. Adams' Painless Guide to Computing; How to Use Your Computer

Without Hurting Yourself. " See the book, articles, and free newsletter

at http://www.painlessguides.com

(http://www.PainlessGuides.com)