Take Care of Your Hands: Signs of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Have you experienced that when you are holding something you feel that at any time you might drop the said object?

I felt that in the past few days when I am holding a glass of water.

I haven't dropped anything yet but there's something wrong when I grip an item with my hands. I can feel that it is not that as tight as it should be. Also over the past few days, there's been a pain in my hands thus when I try to write, using a pen and paper I am not able to finish one or two paragraphs. ( Have you experienced that too?)

Our hands have been one of the major parts of our body, especially in our work and here on the platform because this is what we used to create content. Now having said that we need to take care of it and since I have my rest days during weekends I decided to schedule a visit to a doctor.

Nowadays, before you can set an appointment within the hospital you will need to have it scheduled first with their app online. They are using the Now Serving app to schedule an appointment. Other hospitals use such to make sure that they will be able to get the details with their client and for a timely transaction as well because you will be given a number and time on when you can visit the hospital.

We are still in a pandemic thus they want to make sure that we have fewer folks in every location to cut the spread of the virus.

Now going back, luckily there's a doctor who specialized in Physical Therapy. Back in the old days we only have massages and other stuff but it is a good thing that there is one nowadays who cater to such need.

After getting all the details and going to the hospital I was diagnosed that I have signs of carpal tunnel syndrome.

So what are the signs that you might have it?

If you've ever experienced numbness, tingling, and other symptoms in your hand and arm you may have carpal tunnel syndrome. Thus runs from the forearm into the palm of your hand.

In my case, the pain starts from my forearm up to my palm. The pain in my forearm usually starts each time that I will be typing on my computer and the palm is when I write stuff.

When Doc. Ong performed the test using the reflex/patella hammer. He asked if I can feel the pain each time he hit my forearms. Told him that it doesn't hurt that much but there not quite.

You can't feel; things with your fingers, such as if someone touches you with a feather or if you bump into something.

Doc Ong asked me to do some exercises like touching my forearm. Then my hands, thumbs middle finger, and the pinky finger. He asked if I can feel some sensation and told him that there's is but my left hand my hand doesn't feel that much compared to my right hand.

He mentioned that some of the nerves in my hands might be twisted and that is why the sensations are not that solid.

He said that there's nothing to worry about it since it is not a life-threatening condition and a cure is available if deemed as it is.

On Saturday I will be having a nerve test - not sure how it will be done. He mentioned that he will do an electronic nerve test and searched on Youtube for what will be done. ( Next week I will be giving an update )

Common medications used for carpal tunnel.

As I have searched on the internet, one of the most prominent cures for the said disease is physical therapy.

And we know that when we are looking for a cure we search on Facebook right now, my account has been flooded with Facebook ads showing physical therapies.

Aside from therapies, depending on the pain that you had experienced you will be required to take some over-the-counter medicines.

I was prescribed to buy 3 medications, one anti-inflammatory, one nerve vitamin, and an ointment for pain.

The ointment that he prescribed is different from the OTC ointments that we can buy. Now that Vicks vapor rub isn't the cure to anything.

How to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome:

There are a lot of steps that you can do but I will be sharing what I have learned and how it will be applied on my end.

1. Use ergonomic devices such as keyboards, mice,, and chairs. I understood that the way my mini office was set up was not helpful.

2. Take breaks and avoid repetitive activities.

• This is why I stay away from using the computer and my device for quite some time. I decided to limit my screen time and I will be doing all the computer-related stuff up until a certain time.

3. Performing some stretching exercises before and after the activities.

I never did some exercises before when I wasn't diagnosed and now I am doing it! Oh boy, the difference of doing a warmup exercise is a great help! You should try it too.

Conclusion:

We all know that we need to grind, work hard and do our thing with our hands. But, we still need to make sure that they are well taken care of. Always remember no matter how cliche it is.. prevention is still better than cure. So if you haven't done any hand stretching exercises this is your sign to do it!