MIHP Think Tank Brainstorms… Movement Training Specialists

Is it Really Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

MoveWell is an exciting wellness program designed by the MIHP Think Tank to decrease workplace injuries. So far, we have been working with the corporate sector doing providing topics of “lunch and learns” on various topics, along with 5-minute screenings and 15-minute biomechanical assessments.

A majority of the clients have been “office” workers complaining of low back, shoulder, and neck pain.  I’ve had at least five people just today that complained of neck or shoulder pain, numbness, and tingling in their dominant hand.  That’s not too surprising when your job requires you to sit at a desk/computer with your hand on a mouse most of the day.

While researching this problem, I found some staggering statistics:

"According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), repetitive strain injuries are the nation's most common and costly occupational health problem, affecting hundreds of thousands of American workers, and costing more than $20 billion a year in workers compensation.”

That’s a lot of moolah!

“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly two-thirds of all occupational illnesses reported, were caused by exposure to repeated trauma to workers upper body (the wrist, elbow or shoulder ). One common example of such an injury is carpal tunnel syndrome.”

In our findings, symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can be the same as a pinched nerve, which can be caused by tight muscles in the neck, shoulder and/or upper back.  That makes the next statistic even more horrifying:

“849,000 new cases of carpal tunnel syndrome occurred in 1994.-National Center for Health Statistics.

Approximately 260,000 carpal tunnel release operations are performed each year, with 47% of the cases considered to be work related.-National Center for Health Statistics.

Carpal tunnel syndrome results in the highest number of days lost among all work related injuries. Almost half of the carpal tunnel cases result in 31 days or more of work loss.-National Center for Health Statistics.

Carpal tunnel surgery has about a 57% failure rate following patients from 1-day to 6-years. At least one of the following symptoms re-occurred during this time: Pain, Numbness, Tingling sensations. Source: Nancollas, et al, 1995. J. Hand Surgery.”

Those are staggering numbers!!!  57% failure rate???  31 days or more of work loss?? How can that happen?  That is outrageous!  Maybe the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is not in the carpal tunnel!! Maybe a knife is not the answer!

If you, or anyone you know, are experiencing this type of pain, do this simple exercise first to see if it lessens your symptoms.   It worked with all five people I saw today.

It’s called STEMs (Sitting Thoracic Extension Movements) and it simply restores movement in the closest key rotational spot of your body, the thoracic spine. This is how you do it:

Sit tall on the edge of a chair with both feel firmly planted on the ground.  Fold your arms across your chest and lift them straight overhead and down 6 times.  Next, lift your arms (still folded) overhead and move side to side so you feel a good stretch down your side. Do this 6 times on each side.  Lastly, twist right and left as far as you can go, again 6 times on each side.  Be sure to keep your back straight, chest lifted, and neck in neutral position.  See diagram below:

This exercise opens the chest/thoracic spine in three planes of motion and many times will get rid of or at least lessen pain in the neck, wrist and hand.  This exercise can be done every day.