We should stop blaming the keyboard for carpal tunnel syndrome, according to Jonathan Sorelle, M.D., a Las Vegas, Nevada, hand surgeon. Sorelle says that repetitive use, such as typing on a keyboard, was once believed to be a cause of carpal tunnel syndrome but that theory is no longer considered valid.
Typing Not Cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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“It’s not usually work-related, as we’ve all been taught from that famous article that came out in the ’60s, ” Sorelle told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “We know now that’s really not true. We have a large body of research that really disputes that.” Classic symptoms, he said, are having a numb hand, numb fingers and tingling and pain in the hand.
The carpal tunnel is a tunnel in the wrist. The bottom and sides of the tunnel consist of the wrist (carpal) bones. The top is the transverse carpal ligament, a band of connective tissue. Passing through the tunnel is the median nerve, which travels from the forearm into the hand, and tendons that control hand movement.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, heredity plays a role in whether or not people will get carpal tunnel syndrome. Some peoples’ tunnels are smaller, than others, which is a trait that can be inherited. More women than men get carpal tunnel syndrome and it occurs with greater frequency in older people.
The Journal reports that Sorelle does more than 2, 000 surgeries a year, most of them for carpal tunnel syndrome.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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