# Carpal Tunnel; is weight an impact?



## Mystic Rain (Oct 8, 2007)

In recent weeks, I've developed symptoms of carpal tunnel in both hands. I'm not sure if it was already an underlying problem and gaining all that weight aggravated it, or it developed as a direct cause of the gain. 

At any point, I have weakness in my wrists and hands, tingling and numbness sensations in my thumb and first three fingers at any given time. Holding objects for too long, especially if they're made of metal, produce the same results, and my whole hand becomes tingling and numb then. I'm wearing splints at night, but while they help some, it's just not as much as I'd like. And wearing them during the day at work is impossible with the kind of work I do. I am taking a multi-vitamin, which has an over 4,000 daily allowance of B6 in it.

Pain is inconsistant, and tends to come and go. So usually I don't have to take an aspirin for it or anything. It really hinders my performance, and I value my hands; I do everything with them. Which is why I'm so disheartened by this development. 

The reason why I asked about weight having an impact was I was told it had something do with my weight, and also I looked up the risk factors, and it listed overweight being one of them. However, I don't think that's really true myself. I think it more that at work I'm doing so much with my hands in repetitive motions, and I've been doing that kind of work for almost six years. 

Then I'm on the computer for five-six hours after work at home. Which doesn't really help much, but I do take frequent breaks. I've been trying to argue against a co-worker and friend, whom was the one that told me, that it's from gaining so much weight versus the constant strain on my wrists from all I do at work, where lifting 35-40lb stock is part of the required tasks. She thinks it's directly related to my weight, but I don't think so, which is why I said I wasn't sure.

So does weight have a link to developing carpal tunnel, or is it due just to those reasons, like repetitive motion, where anyone can get it?


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## Friday (Oct 8, 2007)

I checked a few different sites and the only one that listed obesity in any capacity was the Mayo clinic site. Even they had it listed as increasing your risk, not as an actual cause. Carpal tunnel is THE occupational hazard at the PO and if they could get away with blaming it on weight they would certainly try to do so but I've always heard it described as a 'repetitive motion' injury. Your friends are probably genuinely concerned about your health, but to say weight causes CT is like saying driving causes auto accidents. Certainly driving increases the risk that you will be in an accident, but in and of itself it doesn't cause them.


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## SamanthaNY (Oct 8, 2007)

I was about to type out that while obesity does affect joints and nearly all bodily systems... that it wasn't a strong factor in CTS - that CTS is overwhelmingly a repetitive stress injury. 

But... in the breif googling I've done so far - obesity is said to *double *the risk of developing carpal tunnel. Pretty surprising news to me - and I can't get any detailed information as to why - except for:

"Obesity is also a risk factor because water retention adds to muscle and tension stress. Workers with a Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 29 are four times more likely to present with median mononeuropathy than those with a BMI of less than 25." <source>

Not sure what I believe without delving in to it more, but quite a few resources seem to think it's strongly linked.


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## Mystic Rain (Oct 9, 2007)

Which is exactly why I posed the question, if you're looking into what I happened to find in my own searches.


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## Miss Vickie (Oct 9, 2007)

Mystic rain, how are they treating your carpal tunnel? You sound like you're in a lot of pain.  I hope they're at least spending some time and energy on making you better, rather than just blaming it on your weight.

I've always heard of it being a repetitive motion injury, but when I was pregnant with my son 21 years ago they did tell me that my weight was causing the carpel tunnel I was having at that time. OTOH, they called me morbidly obese at 216 pounds and blamed all of my pregnancy related problems on my "extremely high weight". So I don't put too much stock in that and since I had him I've both gained weight and never had the problem again, so I think in my case it had more to do with the pregnancy than anything else.

I suppose it's possible that there could be a layer of fat inside the carpal tunnel that could contribute to the problem, since the pain and numbness is caused by pressure inside that very small space; but for those of us who are heavy and have fat wrists, I think the fat is mostly located outside the carpal tunnel. The more likely possibility is that people with sedentary jobs are more likely to be higher in weight so weight may be correlated, but not cause the problem.

Hard to know, which is why I hope they're focusing on treating you NOW, not just making you feel bad for being fat. Oh and if you're having problems with your thumbs there is certain kind of inflammation that's similar to carpal tunnel called De Quervain's tendonitis. If you're having thumb issues, it might be worth looking into that as well. A woman I work with has it and got a special splint which made an enormous difference.

Good luck!


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## Mystic Rain (Oct 9, 2007)

Miss Vickie said:


> Mystic rain, how are they treating your carpal tunnel? You sound like you're in a lot of pain.  I hope they're at least spending some time and energy on making you better, rather than just blaming it on your weight.



Well, I haven't been to a doctor to receive an official diagnosis, but I've been treating it on my own like I have it based on the symptoms. As I said before, the splints do help. Without wearing them, getting up in the morning I could barely flex my fingers let alone rotate my wrists. They'd be so stiff and sore like arthritis. I haven't mentioned this previously, but I'm a side-sleeper, and I wonder if that contributes to anything.

Thank you for the concern, but I'm not in that much pain. Only when I twist my wrists a wrong way, or press my fingers together when holding an object does it hurt, or as I mentioned above if I don't wear the splints. Every once a while they'll ache all the way up to the elbow.

When I'm holding something that weighs more than 5lbs, sometimes my wrists will give out without warning, and then I almost drop what I'm carrying. I have a constant pinched feeling in my left middle finger. Right now, except for that, they're okay. I've got no pressure on my wrists, and I'm not wearing any kind of support.

Last night was a good night. The splints did beautifully, and I woke up without any issues except for the one finger. I don't know... It really frustrates the heck out of me trying to understand this thing.


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## BubbleButtBabe (Oct 9, 2007)

I have had bilateral carpal and cubital(elbows) tunnel syndromes..I have had both wrist and both elbow done,my right elbow 2 cubital releases,one on top and bottom..At the time I developed these problems I weighed a whole 135 lbs..I personally do not think weight plays a part in it,I would say it is the type of job you do plus the weight you are lifting....I was lifting about 8,000 tires a night that weighed between 16-55 lbs..

If you go to the Dr. and he does a nerve conduit test ask him if he would prescribe having your elbows checked as well...Most of my problems was from my elbows and the median nerve..

Are your splints the long ones or the short ones? My Dr. told me getting the longer splints to sleep in seems to help,he said the shorter ones cut into your arm at a bad spot aggravating your symptoms..Also can you wear your splints while you are working? If you can that will help you a lot..

I hope you find some relief soon because I know how much this affects your life and definitely your sleeping!


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## Mystic Rain (Oct 10, 2007)

BubbleButtBabe said:


> Are your splints the long ones or the short ones? My Dr. told me getting the longer splints to sleep in seems to help,he said the shorter ones cut into your arm at a bad spot aggravating your symptoms..Also can you wear your splints while you are working? If you can that will help you a lot..



The splints, or braces, that I'm wearing at night are by Mueller Sport, and they're right at the wrist. They claim to be ideal for carpal tunnel. I didn't notice any other types of longer splints when looking.

I would wear them to work, but the braces keep my wrists straight and rigid, thus not allowing much movement when I need full movement of my hands to do my job.

Thank you everyone so far for your kind support and words. They're really appreciated.


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## Michelle (Oct 12, 2007)

Here's a little information that may (or may not) help. If you're on the computer a lot, at work, home or both, get a "natural" keyboard. It's the split type that is kind of curved. I was showing signs of carpel tunnel several years ago and went to an orthopedic surgeon. Before taking any drastic measures like surgery, he wanted me to try these keyboards both at work and at the office. It took me about two weeks to get used to them and I was sure I never would, but within a month, the numbness and pain was gone. I could once again play piano and didn't have to wear the splints any longer. This was probably ten years ago.

Now when I try to use a regular keyboard, it's very evident to me how unnatural a position they require your hands to be in and if I have to type on one for any length of time, I'll start to feel tingling in my hands.


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## kathynoon (Oct 12, 2007)

I have suffered with repetitive motion problems in both arms for about 15 years now due to computer usage at work and home. My problem is tenosynovitus and tendonitus. Luckily nerve damage never developed for me. But I have been very aggressive in getting ergonomic setups at work and home, and I have learned triggers that tell me to cool things. I do not use the computer every night at home, for example, and never get on if I come home from work hurting.

During the early days, I was going through the medical department for workman's comp for occupational therapy, and I was going through the health and safety group for the ergo issues. I did a lot of reading and talked to a lto of people. For me, a lot of the problem was the way my workstations were set up and they way I sat in my chair and such. The keyboards we had at work were much less wide than I was. So my arms had to be bent inwards at ackward angles. When I had them order me a wider keyboard, with natural curves in it, it made a world of difference. I was always moving around in my chair because the arms were cutting into my legs. I brought in a screwdriver and took the arms off, and then I could sit up straight, which also made a world of difference. So in a way, my weight created the atmosphere that allowed me to be more affected than my smaller co-workers. I had never been vocal about my accomodations when it was due to my fat. But once it affected my arms, I fought for everything I needed.

The company doctor dealing with the workman's comp - whose job it was to blame me, not the company - tried to argue that my weight meant I never exercised, which left my arms weak and prime for injury. There may have been some truth to that, in that the more you exercise, the more likely you are to do non-repetitive motions with your arms to counterbalance the repetitive motions. Still I had some discussions with him on fat prejudice and such and I ended up getting the company to pay for the therapy. The therapy was very helpful, and taught me some ways to move my arms to keep them from getting bad.


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## Mystic Rain (Oct 30, 2007)

I've got some good news to share.  My hands and wrists are much better now. The constant tingling and numbness I had in my middle finger on my left hand; all gone. 

All I've done is take the multi-vitamins, wearing the splints at night, and also a lot of praying.


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## Frankhw (Oct 31, 2007)

Just found this thread. A few years ago I had similar problems with tingling and occasional shooting pain. (mostly in my right arm). 

At first I thought it was carpal tunnel but occasionally I noticed the pain started in my shoulders and THEN travelled down to my hands. Before I had a chance to go to a doctor my workplace had a class on ergonomics and streaching. 

Crossing one arm in front of you and gently pressing in on the elbow with the other until you can feel the streach for a 5-10 count.

and extending one arm out in front of you and gently pulling back on the fingers with the other arm (you should feel the streach in your wrist and forarm).

were the two streaches that made a world of differance for me. Altough I do work in a manufacturing environment not an office.

Something to try to maintain flexability if you think it would help..


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