NATURAL HEALTH

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By James A. Duke, Ph.D.

A friend of mine works long hours on her computer, often for days at a time, and has developed carpal tunnel syndrome. This malady is caused by compression of the nerve that passes through the "tunnel" formed by the wrist bones. Symptoms are pain, weakness, finger stiffness and a pins-and-needles sensation.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a repetitive motion injury — cumulative trauma associated with constant, rapid use of the fingers (low intensity, high frequency forger work). It's an occupational hazard of bookkeeping and checkout clerks who punch buttons all day long. But CTS didn't become a household word until the 1980s, when personal computers came to dominate our workplaces. Suddenly millions of jobs required the steady, rapid-finger movements that can cause repetitive motion injuries like CTS. It also is a problem for musicians, factory workers and other people who must constantly use their hands.

As my friend's CTS went from bad to worse, she had to give up her massage practice and stop playing her musical instrument because she lost sensation in her fingers. Finally, her CTS got so bad she couldn't turn the doorknob to her home.

That's when she decided to get aggressive in her natural healing program. She consulted an osteopath who manipulated her wrists and encouraged her to exercise, use more herbs and manage her stress. She received regular massages with relaxing aromatherapy oils, took an herbal nervepain formula and slathered liberal amounts of herbal oils — especially anti-arthritic St. John's wort, which my readers also have praised — on her wrists throughout the day.

Her recovery was slow, but she did recover — without the surgery frequently performed for CTS.

REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS HIT HOME

I use a computer as much as or more than my friend — sometimes 14 hours a day. So why haven't I developed CTS?

A couple of possibilities spring to mind. One is that I exercise to interrupt long hours spent at the keyboard. The other is my routine consumption of foods that inhibit cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme involved in inflammation.

Being a man also is a factor in my avoiding this painful syndrome. Women develop carpal tunnel problems more often than men do because of the cyclical hormone fluctuations of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause, which can contribute to swelling of the tissues surrounding the carpal tunnel. But I also think my hand exercises have something to do with it. Adopting a Chinese technique that improves flexibility, I hold two steel balls in one hand and roll them around when I am not typing. The rolling motion massages the tiny muscles and ligaments of the hands and wrists. I also jump on my stationary bike every, other hour and do a seven-minute spin with light dumbbells in each hand, which stretches and exercises most of the muscles in my arms, wrists and fingers.