Another senseless Linux-related injury...

[Peter King]

For the past few weeks I've been having the classic Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome: transient tingling, numbness, burning in the thumb, index,
and middle finger of the hand, with some associated shooting pains
up the forearm. I had a bout of this four years ago, which led to my
learning to touch-type; splinting the wrist and relaxing it for a few
days helped alleviate the pain. This time it's much worse and seems 
rebarbative.

I went to my doctor, who diagnosed CTS and ordered up blood tests and
nerve conduction tests to be sure, but then *immediately* began to
talk about surgery. Everything I've read on the Net says that surgery
really ought to be a last resort, only after six months to a year of
working with "conservative" (non-interventionist) therapies. Plus the
fact that I don't really want my carpal ligament severed.

It struck me that this group must have a fair amount of collective
experience with this medical problem, and, just possibly, also have
some collective wisdom about how to deal with it. I don't need medical
information; I have all that. What I want to know is what people have
tried and how successful (or not) it may have been -- anecdotal reports
are just the ticket. I'll pay for the physiotherapy if that's the way to
go; I want this problem *gone*.

What I've tried to date: wrist splinting, either all day or at night only,
both apparently ineffective; strong doses of ibuprofen as anti-inflammatory;
lightening up (but not swearing off) keyboarding; and extensive complaining.

-- 
Peter King			 	peter.king-H217xnMUJC0sA/PxXw9srA at public.gmane.org
Department of Philosophy
215 Huron Street
The University of Toronto		    (416)-978-3788 ofc
Toronto, ON  M5S 1A1
       CANADA

http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/

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