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 was no computer screen to draw their heads
forward, their 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 develop 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 forward 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 a 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.
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(c)2003 Pamela Adams D.C.
http://www.PainlessGuides.com
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