5 Things You Should Know Before Having Carpal Tunnel Surgery

1. Carpal Tunnel is actually a rare condition affecting only the wrist area. If you have pain in any area other than your wrist, such as your neck, lower back, arms, etc. you probably have RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). RSI causes symptoms characteristic of Carpal Tunnel, but it involves your entire upper body.


2. Carpal Tunnel surgery is not an effective treatment for RSI. Because the muscles you use when working on the computer are very small, extensive computer use can cause these muscles to become inflamed. This can aggravate surrounding nerves, cause pain in restricted areas (such as the carpal tunnel), eventually scarring the tissue. This damage is cumulative.


3. You can improve your condition drastically by changing your habits. How many people do you know who stretch and warm up the muscles controlling their fingers before working them? A professional athlete would never consider competing without warming up and stretching. If you use the computer more than two hours per day, you need to condition your upper body regularly like an athlete.
   
   
4. Repetitive Strain Injury is a result of a particular lifestyle—one that only you have the power to change! I first learned of RSI when I went to work for a fortune 500 company as a sales person three and a half years ago. I was working more than ten hours per day at a high-stress job, spending the majority of my day on the phone and computer. By the end of the day I was exhausted from the stress and had no energy left to exercise. Soon, I began waking up many mornings with a painful stiff neck that would last for weeks. The pain in my left elbow would keep me awake at night. My entire life was affected; my moods, my activities, and it spilled over into my relationships.


5. Soft Tissue Treatment can be an effective alternative to surgery. I began to research my condition, feeling sure that there must be a less invasive, more effective treatment for my RSI. My sister had been bedridden with back pain a few years ago, and her wrist pain was so severe that she could no longer function at her job. Finally, through regular treatment by a soft-tissue specialist, including a regular stretching program, she has become pain free, has returned to programming, and can carry her toddler with ease.

Time crunches make us all forget to take regular breaks, and we end up getting less exercise than we need in general. The key is to take charge of your own health care, and be confident and firm in choosing your own treatment. No one knows your body better than you do. Best of all, you have nothing to lose by trying non-invasive remedies before opting for surgery. So take the initiative, do your homework, and choose your own best path to health.