Carpal tunnel relief question and a request for an Atlanta-area specialist.
I have carpal tunnel syndrome in the left, for sure. The right side mimics the symptoms pretty regularly, so it's possible that I have it in the right as well. I will be having my second nerve conduction study in a few weeks to determine if this is the case. I've had symptoms for a few years now, and my doctor feels that surgery is the next step. I would prefer not to have anyone cutting into my hands unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Additionally, I am somewhat suspect about my doctor's abilities, for no logical reason that I can come up with except that he went to med school in Guadalajara (I can't find much helpful info about the school after a quick google search).
So, here I am, working in IT consulting (which seems to mean "sit in front of a computer all week"), and I used to enjoy playing computer games in my spare time. I haven't played very much at all for quite some time, in an effort to decrease stress and inflammation. I have some degree of pain almost constantly, and quite a bit more when I'm typing or mousing (in both hands, so the common suggestion of giving up mousing probably wouldn't help).
I use a powerball on occasion to strengthen my arms, wrists, and fingers. I have discovered that I can use Ace elastic wrist bands to manage the pain when not typing (they're not helping at all while I type this post), and Ace padded wrist splints at night. I cannot use Handeze as the glove portion cuts off the circulation in my hands. I play with Thinking Putty often. I have a MS natural keyboard at work, and, while I type, my arms are angled slightly downward, and the keyboard is angled slightly backward. I also take Celebrex on occasion.
Besides leaving IT and switching my career to who knows what... What else can I do to try and make this go away without surgery? Will continued use of Celebrex as an anti-imflammatory protect me from future nerve damave?
And, finally, can anyone recommend Atlanta's best CTS specialist? Ideally, someone on the north side hospital district, or in/around Sandy Springs, Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell areas... Email is in profile if you wish to converse outside AskMeFi.
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About 7 or 8 years back I was having pretty consistent wrist strains from typing/mousing on the job and at home, and the MS Natural keyboard did nothing for me. Out of desperation, I purchased the Kinesis Ergo Classic Keyboard, and within a week my wrist pain went away.
I have one at work, and one at home. While they cost $300 each, they also have been the best thing to happen to my wrists in my entire life. On top of this, 7+ years later, the first one I purchased still works fine, including the on-board macro and reprogramming features, despite things like drink spills and constant abuse. These things are built like tanks.
If you can already touch-type, you can get up and running on one in a week or less, at full speed (potentially faster than before). There are newer models that are basically the same shape but with more features, but I can only speak for the Classic version.
Caveat: I was never diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel, so it is possible that my experiences were simple muscle strains. All I know is that I had reached a point where I was seriously considering changing careers up until I tried this keyboard, and 7+ years later I'm still going strong.
posted by tocts at 7:23 AM on June 18, 2007