According to The New York Times, about 3% of women and 2% of men will be diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome during their lifetime. Typists, musicians, meat packers and people who assemble airplanes are among the most likely to develop the problem The Times writer reported, as are people who use their hands and wrists repetitively on the job.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Hazard to Drug Dealers
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Then there are the Skid Row drug dealers. Los Angeles Police Chief Charles Beck says his department has heard drug dealers complaining about getting carpal tunnel syndrome from counting big stacks of one dollar bills.
In a recent raid law enforcement officers seized $1.8 million in cash—of which $600, 000 of the currency was in one dollar bills. According to Beck, it took the department more than three days to count all the cash seized in the raid.
“I had never seen $600, 000 in $1 bills, ” Beck said. “It just about fills the back of a pick-up truck.”
LAist writer Julia Wick noted: ”Work as a Skid Row drug dealer certainly comes with its fair share of occupational hazards, from arrest to bodily harm. Now, it seems there is another to add to the list—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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