Many people who suddenly develop carpal tunnel syndrome often find themselves blaming all their recent activities, including writing as the cause of this painful episode. Truly, something must have caused the pain, and all activities performed with the hand should be a suspect until thoroughly cleared.
Writing is a major activity of the hand that engages many hand muscles and nerves simultaneously which may lead to discomfort when overused. However, does writing cause a person to develop carpal tunnel syndrome? Join me as we find out what medical experts have to say.
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome develops when there is an excessive amount of pressure on the wrist which causes it to swell, compressing the median nerve. The median nerve runs through the anterior part of the wrist (the palm of the hand).
The wrist and palm houses a narrow tunnel called the carpal tunnel which contains about 9 tendons and the median nerve. When pressure on the wrist sets in, it affects the median nerve and causes it to compress. Then, along comes pain and other symptoms.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the very common hand conditions that you can easily diagnose even before you schedule a doctor’s visit. Some of the symptoms of this condition include:
Weakness in the affected hand
Randomly dropping things unintentionally. Not being able to hold on to objects with the hand can be a sign of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Tingling and Pin sensation
You may experience tingling sensations in your fingers. Sometimes, it feels as though an electric current just passed through your fingers and hand. Other times, you may experience a needle-like sensation on your fingers.
Swelling and pain
The pressure causes the fingers and palms to become visibly swollen as the tissues in the carpal tunnel become inflamed. Then, the pain becomes evident as the tissues press down and compress the median nerve. The pain may wake you up from sleep and can stop you from enjoying a good night’s rest.
Numbness
Carpal tunnel syndrome causes the fingers and hand to go numb. You may not have the liberty to feel things as you should. When you notice all these, sit down with your physician for a proper diagnosis to avoid nerve damage.
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Is carpal tunnel syndrome caused by writing?
Experts have determined after recent research that typing can not cause you to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. However, typing for a long period such as more than 20 hours a week increases your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Here is why: One of the most common causes of carpal tunnel syndrome was narrowed down to engaging in repetitive activities with the hand, extensive wrist extension, and ulnar deviation. Repetition, which is often seen in typing or writing consistently causes the tunnel of the hand to become pressured and may finally cause the condition to develop.
Other causes of this syndrome
Playing instruments, handling tools that work in the same motion, using a mouse very frequently on your computer, and operating a video game pad always. All these can increase your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Away from writing and typing, underlying factors that are actually behind developing the syndrome include:
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Metabolic diseases
- Narrower carpal tunnel due to genes
- Injury or trauma to the wrist
Can you get carpal tunnel syndrome from writing with a pencil or pen?
Repetitive hand movement has been implicated as a high factor for carpal tunnel syndrome. Writing with a pen or pencil involves wrist posture and employing many hand movements such as gripping, twisting, circling, and much more.
Achieving these movements means engaging the median nerve and other muscles. Therefore, writing, instead of typing can increase the risk of having this painful syndrome.
How can I write without risking carpal tunnel syndrome?
Writers who write regularly can not just stop being productive because they fear risking the syndrome. Instead, there are things to implement and ways to go about your writing activities while still being carpal tunnel syndrome-free.
Those who prefer to write manually must learn to put down the pen at intervals. Once you have your pen off your fingers, rest your hands and have them in a comfortable position for a while.
Moreover, learn how to lessen your grip on your pen while writing. As you repetitively write, your tightened grip may cause pressure to build on the carpal tunnel. Stopping to take breaks can help your wrist fight off pressure.
Suppose you do your content writing with a laptop, take breaks from typing at a stretch too. At the onset of any form of pain in your palms, thoroughly rest your fingers and palms, and do not perform any sort of repetitive activity until it goes away.
What is the best position to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome while writing?
Your wrist posture matters a lot if you truly wish to prevent this condition. Place a pad or pillow to support your arms and elbows while actively typing.
Ensure that you do not extend your wrists excessively. Instead, keep them in a neutral position as you type. Relax your shoulders but keep your arms a bit elevated so that your fingers and wrists can move and type without feeling locked in. Meanwhile, the writing table holding your laptop must be placed almost at the same height as your chair when actively typing.
Finally, dear writers, learn how to take those needed rests and exercise your fingers and hands today. You must stand up from your writing desk and walk around.
Stretch your legs, and exercise your eyes, fingers, and hands before you return to your writing. It takes a healthy body to create amazing content.
