I make a living in front of the computer. Eight hours per day, at least 5 days per week, I sit in front of the computer clicking and typing away. A few months ago I started noticing pain in my hands and forearms. The first thing that popped into my head was carpal-tunnel syndrome. It was a scary thought that at 28 years old I could be heading down a road that would ultimately end in surgery. I decided to research the major symptoms and found this:

“Classic” Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel

• Tingling and numbness in your thumb, index and middle finger.
• Aching in the forearm which can radiate to the shoulder and clumsiness or weak grip.

“Other” Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel

• Tingling in all fingers
• Tingling only in the thumb or the middle finger
• Aching and pain in the hand
• Radiating pain to the shoulder or back.

If I stretched it a bit I supposed I could have made my symptoms meed a few of these criteria but in reality I had the following:

• Pain in the pinky finger (mostly the right hand)
• Pain in the wrist (mostly on the right side)
• The pain would increase as the day progressed
• My pink would become “non-responsive” — it just wouldn’t work

I decided to consult my father who has worked in sports medicine for the past 30 years and has dealt with more repetitive-motion injuries than anyone I know.  He asked me a few questions and had me do a few self-tests.  He was almost certain that, based on the symptoms, it couldn’t be carpal-tunnel.  Instead he believed it was tendonitis (inflamed tendons).  He warned that tendonitis would not get better unless I used my hands as little as possible.  Knowing that wasn’t an option he recommended that I go to CVS and buy a hand/wrist brace that kept my hands “still” as much as possible.

I have been using the brace for five days now and the results are dramatic.  My hands feel 100% better.  The moral of the story: Don’t jump to the worst possible conclusion…talk to a health professional and get the real scoop.  A $10 brace might fix the problem!

Note: I am not a health professional and this post is not meant to diagnose anything!  If you are experiencing hand pain please consult a health professional for an official diagnosis.

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