Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at 21

I used to spend hours and hours typing away, unaware of life outside of my bubble of words. I could copy edit for hours, type chapter after chapter in novels, blog on end for days without realizing just how damaging it is to my body. One year of repeated behavior did it for me. When I laid down to sleep at night, the palms of my hands would tingle and become numb.

Uncertain, I pulled on wrist guards, thinking it would help my circulation if I stabilized my wrists. And then heat accompanied with pain would shoot through my hands. This strange feeling led me to ask my friend from medical school if it was something serious. After leading me through a series of stretches, he concluded that I had developed a minor case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This surprised my superiors because I was in my early twenties.

My friend suggested me spend time away from the computer, or find another way to type. Unwilling to spend time away from my computer and writing, I purchased MacSpeech Dictate, and that worked out for a while. I would strap on the microphone and speak and the words would appear on my screen. This wasn't always very accurate, which annoyed me, especially since I typed, on average, a couple million words a day. Being forced to slow down, I eventually gave in and started typing again. Needless to say, the pain in my wrists got worse. Unwilling to give in, I started taking pain killers to the point I felt my hands grow heavier and more unwilling to move.

Finally, I gave in and visited my family doctor who was surprised to hear of my claims to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. After looking at my wrists, she prescribed some antibiotics to help the swelling in my hands go down. She also taught me some exercises. With those, she sent me home. In short, she neither helped nor doomed me.

So I turned to my medical school friend who grew extremely angry with me. After his annoyance, he surveyed my working station. Having used a macbook for years, I had grown accustomed to my wrists resting on the computer and my elbows on my table, which he claimed, added pressure to my wrists. This strain was the main reason for my pain. Not to mention, once I added a laptop cooling fan beneath my computer, the increased elevation added to the tension, which cut off circulation to my hands, from time to time. So, to make up for the two inches of elevation, I placed two 2" thick books where my arms rested, so as to create a more flattened angle from my hands to my elbow. To my great surprise, this helped A LOT.

Also, I used to type with my computer quite close to me with my elbows jutted to the sides and my back slouched, but by pushing my lap top further from me, it forced my arms and back to straighten, thus taking pressure from my veins, which allowed a smoother blood flow. This didn't seem important to me, but my pain and tingling sensation slowly died off. My hands stopped aching and my wrists were less strained. This affected my overall mood because the less pain I felt, the happier I was.

I was, however, forced to spend less time in front of the computer. For the first month of applying the books to my table, I spent as little as five hours in front of my computer every day. During the second month, the hours lessened, and my body became more healthy. Now, two years later, I am able to type and move away from my computer as I see fit. Sometimes, I spend several hours without moving, editing short films, writing articles, books, and the like, but I always remember that, for each hour I spend in front of the computer, an hour and a half of non-computer time was needed for the sake of balance in my health.

In no way am I claiming that doctors cannot help. Mine simply found it unbelievable for my claims to be true. After a few months of getting my health back, I switched doctors and have been great ever since. At no point should anyone ever feel brushed off by their doctors, so if you feel something isn't right, do something about it. We live in a changing world, where 21-year-olds have mild cases of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

In the words of Lewis from 'Meet the Robinsons' (2007), "Keep moving forward!"