Carpel tunnel anyone?

[djrobsd]

I know that any desk/keyboard setup can cause carpel tunnel, but are there any readers out there who developed carpel tunnel while using the Apple Magic Mouse, and Apple bluetooth keyboard? I really love using them both, but have developed carpel tunnel and was wondering if they might partially be causing the symptoms.

 

[Kashsystems]

I know that any desk/keyboard setup can cause carpel tunnel, but are there any readers out there who developed carpel tunnel while using the Apple Magic Mouse, and Apple bluetooth keyboard? I really love using them both, but have developed carpel tunnel and was wondering if they might partially be causing the symptoms.

I am developer with minor carpel tunnel with 2 discs pinching on my nerves (c4,c5). I went and got two opinions from doctors about whether I have carpel tunnel. Both stated the same thing, my carpel tunnel was relativity minor and barely noticeable. The pressure on my discs upon my nerves was causing my arm pain. They both told me there are so many things your body could be going through to make you think you have carpel tunnel and find out it really is something else.

I switched to the Apple keyboard so I could force my hands in a better position in front of me and limit my movement, because it is much smaller. I was using an ergonomic keyboard before but the distance with the huge split between each half of the keyboard was causing me more issues than anything else. I went on an a crusade to make my work environment as comfortable as possible. If you do not have the money for an ergonomic specialist, I would go on youtube and look at ergonomic videos that discuss positioning.

I use Apple magic mouse, trackpad, and a gaming mouse depending on my situation. For me personally the magic mouse with the muti touch gesture support helps with limiting my movement so I do not cause myself pain. Sometimes when I feel tweaked and want to limit my movement I go the trackpad. I have used the ergonomic sideways mouse and they seem to not really make a difference for me.

You need to just experiment and see what works for you. The most important thing I learned was having my desk setup so I am not slouching or stretching too far to do tasks.

 

[Gala]

I know that any desk/keyboard setup can cause carpel tunnel, but are there any readers out there who developed carpel tunnel while using the Apple Magic Mouse, and Apple bluetooth keyboard? I really love using them both, but have developed carpel tunnel and was wondering if they might partially be causing the symptoms.

I am a chiropractor that treats carpal tunnel regularly. Like the last poster said you need to establish weather or not the tingling in your hands is A) really carpal tunnel B) from other nerve entrapments in your arms C) at the root of the nerve in the neck. There are all sorts of situations that can cause tingling in the hands but differentiating between nerve compression (tingling all the time & varying depending on which finger) and vascular compression (hand falling asleep/feeling comes back when you shake it/usually pinkie finger) is the place to start because they are treated differently.

The reason I bring this up is because if you do have compression at the root in the neck causing your tingling you should get it treated ASAP because these are the type of injuries that if untreated or you have the unfortunate chance of being in a physical injury (car accident or hard fall) they can become something that takes months of conservative care or surgery to fix. Chances are you don't have this but its the reality of the symptoms.

If it is mild to moderate carpal tunnel from nerve compression at the wrist then ergonomic changes will help. The nerve gets compressed as it passes through a hole in the wrist. It goes through with a ton of other finger and wrist flexors. So if you stretch those out and limit the time you spend flexing them with your wrists curled downwards on the keyboard (like a "put up your dukes" fighting position) the better off you'll be.

That's about as much general stuff I can give out on the internet so if you have any questions I would look into finding a chiropractor or physical therapist in your area that uses the Graston Technique. We use it in our office, it works wonders, and the physician will be well educated on proper ergonomics for little tips and tricks to help you out will on your own.

 

[mslide]

I started seeing signs of it a few of years ago (I'm an engineer so I basically type for a living). I switched to using a Kinesis Advantage keyboard and haven't had any pains since. It's a very expensive keyboard and a pain in the ass to get used to but it's well worth it. I have one at work and at home. Plus side is that my typing is much faster now.

When it comes to Apple keyboard/mice, it's all about looks and not about functionality or ergonomics.

As for my mouse, I use a Logitech Performance MX at work and a G600 at home.