Carpal Tunnul Syndrome Essay Research Paper Carpal

Carpal Tunnul Syndrome Essay, Research Paper

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Caused By the Use of Computers

Now that we are almost into the twenty first century it is becoming clear how our world has evolved technologically. Most of the technology which we have experienced is based on or related to computers. Computers have been successful tools in making our lives much easier. unfortunately, there has been a dramatic rise of repetitive Strain Injuries in the last six years, one of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It was in the last six years that computers began to take over our communication systems, which are what we thrive on, therefore more people have been using computers and using them more consistently than seen in the past. Fortunately, Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) are nothing fetal, so it is highly unlikely that technology will be reversed because of them, however more technological advancement might be difficult if something is not done to treat RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a common type of RSI. CTS is a condition that effects the hands and wrists. The condition occurs by pressure being put on the median nerve where is travels to the hand through a gap called the carpal tunnel. This gap lies under the transverse carpal ligament, which is located at the front of the wrist. The median nerve is what carries sensory and motor information form the thumb and fingers to the muscles in the hand. The pressure that is placed on the median nerve is what causes the nerve damage. This causes the numbing, tingling, burning pain in the wrist, hand and fingers.

Though it has been proven that repetitive stress on the hands and wrist is what leads to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome there are also other contributes to the condition. The other factors that can contribute to CTS are, pregnancy, thyroid disease, and oral contraceptives, or anything that causes fibers to swell in the tunnel area. Poor posture, when typing, puts extra strain on your arms and wrists and can therefore contribute to CTS, as well. The poor posture issue when typing is related to furniture issue. If you are using furniture that is not meant for typing, or furniture that is not positioned properly you will often find your self in lousy posture, which aggravates the arms, wrists, and hands. Given this list of other factors that go into getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome it is easy to see why middle aged women are most likely to develop CTS, because women are the people that take oral contraceptives, get pregnant, and most often have thyroid disease. Women are also much more susceptible to poor posture because of osteoporosis.

Women in there middle ages are of course not the only people that get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, it is estimated that twenty three thousand cases are reported each year. Of the cases that are reported a majority of them is from computer users, but not all of them. There are many jobs that require repetitive motion and so people with those jobs are just as likely to get CTS as those who use computers. People that get CTS are the following: meat cutters, construction workers, jack hammer operators, carpenters, assembly line workers, upholster, sewing machine operators, supper market cashiers who use scanners, dental hygienists, pianists, guitarists, violinists, bank tellers, and crocheters, and base ball pitchers All these jobs involve a motion that is repeated. That repeated motion is all that is really needed to develop CTS, but other factors generally go along with the repetitive motion.

When you have a job that involves repetitive stress on the body there are precautions that you can take to avoid developing CTS. The suggested prevention and treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is correcting posture. Feet should be flat on the floor or on foot rest, elbows close to the body, fore arms parallel to the ground , wrist straight and not resting on anything, and hand should be in a straight line with the forearm. The computer screen should be at eye level or only a slight bend down of the head. To accommodate the posture issue it recommended that ergonomic work station be purchased. Ergonomic work station include a special keyboard that is meant for people with CTS, wrist rests, foot rests, and glare screens, and document holders. If am ergonomic station is not purchased then other compensations can be made , such as the purchase of a “Tiffany Table”, which is table that has a dropped keyboard in the middle, or adjustable work tables, or even keyboard draws will work too. It is recommended that a fifteen minute break be taken for every two hours of typing. During this break you should massage your palms, and o a few simple physical, therapy exercises with you fingers. Many companies are reluctant to help their employees prevent CTS because it means that the company has to treat all the employees like they have CTS, and that is extremely expensive plus there is no guarantee that the preventions will work. If the preventions don’t work then the company has to dish out more money for workman’s compensation, insurance and other medical supplies related to CTS.

In the event that you happen to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, there are several options of treating it. The most common and basic treatment is immobilization of the hand and wrist, as long with anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Annaprox, and cortisone shots are given to to help