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To clarify, we probably wouldn't be able to diagnose it as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome until after an exam with a specialist. It's probably a little more precise to describe it as some kind of repetitive stress disorder. So... think of it as a response to an unnatural position for your arms, wrists, hands and fingers. Carpal Tunnel is just one type of response... It sounds like you have others too. Truth be known, the forearm and wrist thing is probably carpal tunnel, ... but the finger thing is perhaps a different form of repetitive stress -- all of which ... you're right ... you've *got* to eliminate immediately.
First off, you probably need to visualize what's happening so you can figure out the fix. Apparently, the tendons that trigger muscle responses in your hands have to pass through this kind of narrow passageway between that whole collection of tiny bones in your wrist (the "carpal tunnel"). If your wrist is even *slightly* out of alignment, forcing the tendons to bend and rub through that tunnel, they eventually let you know about that friction... by sending pain impulses to your brain!
The good news is... if you take action at the first sign of pain, it is indeed reversible in most cases. If you delay and let it go on, surgery... or worse... could be next. So... here's the fix I used... and it worked, I think. These aren't in any hard and fast order... In fact, I'd say don't leave out a one! :-)
1) POSTURE -- Number one thing to check is the height of your seated position in relation to your keyboard and monitor. You've probably been taught this before by your piano teacher (did you have one? :-) ), your typing teacher, or a computer instructor. Back straight... good posture... It should look like you're a gymnist when you type. Now that you've had even the slightest case of pain in your wrist, the days of typing in a fluffy, deep foamed couch are history. You'll never again be able to use your laptop from an easy chair. From now on, the rest of your life, you'll have to take this seriously -- *look like a ballet star* when you're seated at your keyboard. Shoulders relaxed, but square -- not tense, just not slumping. Arms hanging naturally down from your shoulders, then... maybe the most important factor of all, the angle from the elbow to the wrist should be just a *slight* drop ... elbows higher than wrists by just an inch or two. The books tell you they can be even -- an exact 90 degree angle at the elbow... but I don't buy it. I think there has to be a slight drop.
A colleague should be able to place a straight-edge in the inside hinge of your elbow and that straight-edge should be able to trace the top of your forearm all the way down and through your wrist, clear out to your big knuckles. In other words, the "flat" of your hand... the "back" of your hand" ... should be in perfect alignment with your forearm. *Don't* rest your wrists on a wrist pad. They'll be up off your keyboard. But *do* rest the heel of your wrists on your keyboard or desk *between* sentences while you're thinking. But once you start typing again, they need to pop back up like a cheerleader after a basket. :-) Finally, the angle between your eyes down to your screen ... As you know, the screen should be slightly *lower* than the height of your eyes... so you head or eyes look down at a slight angle (as opposed to your monitor being perched on some shelf in some kind of hutch, where you have to look "up" at it).
2) KEYBOARD -- I'd suggest you invest in a "split" keyboard. Even if you need a keyboard with funny Chinese script, I bet somewhere there... you could find even a Chinese script keyboard that's "split" like the Microsoft "Natural". By "split" I mean that they keys break apart (usually between the t and the y, the g and the h, and the b and the n). The spacing between the b and n is the widest, while the space between the t and y is narrower, making a kind of "wedge" shape in the middle. What this does is allow the tendon to be *straight* through tunnel. Again -- sight down your forearm from the elbow and the axis into the center of your wrist should be *straight*. The wrists can't be turned off at an angle. Experiment with the keyboard "props" under the keyboard itself. Most people prefer a slightly raising slope (the "number" row highest) but it's a personal decision. And as for the mouse, it can be a killer too. Make sure you don't have to raise your whole arm up to some kind of higher level shelf than the keyboard shelf itself. When you use your mouse, your upper arm should still be able to drape relatively straight down. The Logitech "New Touch" keyboard has a built-in touchpad on the right, below the arrow keys. I like that. Most importantly, make sure your keyboard has *full* key spacing. Some of the laptop keyboards these days have 10% reduction of what used to be standard, so they can save space. *That* is probably the worst killer of all, next to the posture thing.
3) FREQUENT BREAKS -- During your recovery period, you'll have to take at least a 5 minute flexing break for every 15 minutes of typing. During the break, make up funny stretching exercises that relax and stretch your tendons and muscles. Stretch your arms clear up over your head. Rotate your wrists around in all directions, stretch them with intermeshed fingers behind your back -- *anything* that feels good.
4) LIMITED USE DURING RECOVERY -- Especially during healing, learn to answer your mail in 4 sentences or less. Please hear this loud and clear: Your wrists are *damaged*. They need rest. If you don't limit your keyboarding at *this* stage, you're looking at *eliminating* it later anyway. So... I strongly suggest that you limit your typing (and piano playing and guitar playing) to no more than a combined total of *one* hour per day. That's it. If you need to type more than that, get one of those dictation programs... though you'll still spend a large amount of time correcting. I've tried them all. :-) So... might as well just face it now... *one* hour max, including guitar.
5) READ -- Start doing some research into repetitive stretch. Read about it on the web. Look at the long-term development of the disorder. It'll scare you into submission in the above steps. :-)If you follow the above advice *religiously* (no cheating), I'd predict you'll be pain-free in about 6 weeks. And then if you follow it the rest of your life, I'd predict you could someday work back up to 4 hours of typing/day with no pain. Above that -- you might *always* have *some* pain. That's reality.
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