Wrist and Hand Pain

The Real Source of Your Wrist and Hand Pain
What Your Health Care Professional Is Missing

Not too long ago, it seemed like everyone working on computers was being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. It was clearly one of the most common repetitive stress injuries around. Now so many people work on computers as a part of their daily lives that it’s almost as if we have evolved beyond that particular diagnosis. However there are still plenty of people out there suffering with wrist and hand pain from repetitive stress. Activities such as turning a wrench continuously, typing all day, or playing a sport like tennis can all cause these types of injuries. The question to ask yourself if you have one of these injuries is, “With so many people performing the same or similar tasks, how did I get to be in so much pain?”

I challenged one of my clients, Tammy, to ask herself that very question when she came to me with hand and wrist pain. When she came into my office, she was complaining of right wrist pain and a radiating pain in to her right hand. According to her health history she was diagnosed with tendonitis caused by repetitive activity and had already been prescribed anti-inflammatories by her doctor. But despite the fact that she had been taking medication for three months and wearing a wrist brace for two months, things didn’t seem to get any better.

Tammy was adamant that this was a result of her work. As a part of her day to day, Tammy--like many of her coworkers--sat in a cubicle and pounded away on a computer keyboard. She had two fifteen