Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome is a painful and disabling disorder characterized by
inflammation and swelling of the tendons that run through the narrow
carpal tunnel in the wrist, and is one of the most common of repetitive
stress injuries. Numbness, tingling, and pain in the base of the thumb
and the first three fingers results from the compression of a nerve
that shares the carpal tunnel. The syndrome, categorized by the World
Health Organization as a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, is caused
by excessive and unrelieved repetition of movements that in themselves
appear innocuous, such as cutting meat or typing on a computer keyboard.
In addition to high frequency of repetition and lack of rest periods,
factors that increase risk of hand-wrist damage include awkward or unnatural
working posture, use of excessive force in performing a task, and emotional
stress.
Carpal
tunnel syndrome, one of the cumulative trauma disorders reportedly responsible
for 30 to 40 percent of worker's compensation claims in the early 1990s,
afflicts burgeoning numbers of office workers. Almost half of all carpal
tunnel syndrome cases result in 31 days or more of work loss in the
United States. The field of health care responded to this affliction
with hand clinics designed to rehabilitate disabled workers. Treatment
includes rest, exercises, wrist splints, anti-inflammatory medications,
learning stress-reducing movement techniques, making adjustments to
the individual's workstation, and surgery to reduce pressure on the
afflicted nerve. But now SURGERY CAN BE avoided in some cases with the
use of the ML830 laser
