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Arm/hand Pain
Septus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been to the doctor twice, across a timespan of about 4 years, for arm and hand pain/soreness, which is most likely caused by my significant computer usage. The first time, the orthopedist suggested I had joint laxity, and I needed to strengthen those muscles. I treated it briefly, but when I stopped liking my physical therapist, I was really dumb and didn't get a new one.
So now my problem has become much worse, with the soreness and pain being with me pretty much all day, instead of going away after work when I left my computer desk, and I also have intermittent numb sensations in my fingertips, and am starting to wake up in the early morning with one of my arms having fallen "asleep." I just went to my primary care physician to get a recommendation, and while I'm glad he didn't think it was a really serious issue, his lack of offering a better explanation for the recent escalation of the problem, isn't too satisfying. He thinks it could be a combination of tendonitis and carpal tunnel.
So now I'm going to get an appointment with a neurologist to test my nerve connectivity, which I think will tell whether I have a pinched nerve or something.
What I want to know, is whether anyone has had similar problems, and thinks the solution is anything other than the common prescription of getting a more ergonomic setup, and doing physical therapy.
I also asked my doctor if he thought there would be any lasting harm, to wait another couple of months before getting routine therapy, because my job will have my going 12 hour days, and leave me no time to see a medical professional regularly, he thought I could.
So now my problem has become much worse, with the soreness and pain being with me pretty much all day, instead of going away after work when I left my computer desk, and I also have intermittent numb sensations in my fingertips, and am starting to wake up in the early morning with one of my arms having fallen "asleep." I just went to my primary care physician to get a recommendation, and while I'm glad he didn't think it was a really serious issue, his lack of offering a better explanation for the recent escalation of the problem, isn't too satisfying. He thinks it could be a combination of tendonitis and carpal tunnel.
So now I'm going to get an appointment with a neurologist to test my nerve connectivity, which I think will tell whether I have a pinched nerve or something.
What I want to know, is whether anyone has had similar problems, and thinks the solution is anything other than the common prescription of getting a more ergonomic setup, and doing physical therapy.
I also asked my doctor if he thought there would be any lasting harm, to wait another couple of months before getting routine therapy, because my job will have my going 12 hour days, and leave me no time to see a medical professional regularly, he thought I could.
PSN: Kurahoshi1
Septus on
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You may want to grab one of those stress balls and squeeze them to see if that helps with some of the pain and numbness. I know you can get them in varying densities to help improve strength.
There are a few things I know to do, like build up my shoulder strength, and I do need to start using my hand ball again. But the sudden onset of the nerve issues freaked me out.
I was on the local rowing team during high school, and after a few months, I started losing sensation in my right hand, starting with the pinky finger then moving in over time. I had some nerve tests done, and the doctor found that I did indeed have some significant signal transmission issues, caused by compression of the ulnar nerve during rowing, and my only options for fixing it were to either undergo surgery, or quit rowing and hope my arm went back to normal. I quit rowing, but I still have some minor issues with that arm - like if my elbow sits on an unpadded armrest for more than a few minutes at a time, my little finger starts to go numb, so if I'm going to campus to work on a library computer, I bring a sweater or something to put under it.
Nerves are pretty serious business, and you don't want to fuck around with them. Get your appointment, get tested, figure out which nerve is causing trouble for you, then figure out a way to accommodate it.
These things could be benign, or much worse, and be related to other medical conditions.
Anyways, turns out, totally computer related. I had gotten into the habit of resting my arm on the desk while moving the mouse, and between the posture change and the constant leaning hour after hour, something had happened. I got a tablet (for the mouse) to keep on my lap to change things up a bit, and things improved considerably. So much so, I built an extension onto my chair so the mouse was on a forward leaning tilt down lower by my side. Keeps me from resting on the arm while still being fairly relaxed and comfortable, good blood flow, problem solved.
It is weird though, having the mouse there. Often when I get focused into a game or drawing I put it back up on the desk. Dunno why that is, muscle memory, location response, something. Anyways, short deviations don't seem to matter, it's positioning over the long haul that made the difference, for me at least.
You are doing the right thing by seeing a neurologist. The nerve conductivity test is a little uncomfortable, but will tell them if you have nerve damage (and which nerve). If they do the muscle test, it's a little less comfortable, but tolerable.
I had an ulnar nerve release, where they opened the "shaft" the nerve rests in to give it a little more room. This helped, but a year later my symptoms had returned. This time the recommended a "trans-location", where they actually re-route the nerve and tuck it under some muscle. Feeling has completely returned to my hand, I get no more cramping, and have very little pain (it will never go away completely, from what I understand).
My doc was unsure if the injury was an old sports injury (took a facemask to the elbow once), or excessive computer use, or likely a combination. Since we tried padding, ergonomic changes, pain pills, nerve and muscle relaxers...the only option was surgery. It is not uncommon, though.
One of the reasons they're great is because you're holding your hand in a very natural position when you use it, and you only have to hold the pen very loosely. The only time my hand/wrist/arm has ever hurt during the years I've used a tablet as a mouse (maybe going on 10, now?) was when I was using it to draw, and was drawing for like...8 straight hours. And then, the reason for the pain was that I was having to press down on the tablet hard, to get use of the pressure sensitivity...which you wouldn't have to do if you're just using it as a mouse.
But if your mouse is partially to blame, it might be a good option for you. I don't think you'd need any specific brand, though I know Wacom is excellent for drawing-type stuff, and their most basic model is about $100 new, with a pen. You could probably find a cheaper, used tablet on ebay or somesuch to try out, and see if it helps at all.
its outpatient surgury,
they make a small incision in your lower palm below your thumb and use a small probe to slightly loosen a tendon (I believe?) in your wrist.
this is commonly done on the elderly suffering from carpal tunnel.
you go home with a bandage on the effected wrist and a wrist guard to prevent you from moving it. it stays on for a week before you get the stitches out. there is no general anesthesia so all the 'risk of surgery' goes away.
about as risky as getting a root canal.
Try sleeping with your right hand raised next to your ear, that may help, and take regular breaks from typing, or invest in Dragon.
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