I'm not used to blogging, so if this as a blog sucks, then there's my excuse.
So, wtf is carpal tunnel? (And yes, to you trolls, I HAVE checked wikipedia and such sites to find info, but sadly my native language is norwegian and I don't understand all the "Medical english" in those articles.) It seems like everyone knows what it is, or atleast knows alot more about it than I do. I do know that it causes some kind of pain in the wrist/arms(?) and can be treated with surgery etc.
I don't want to write more on the topic of carpal tunnel, since I tend to drag things out foreveeeer, but what do people write about in blogs anyway? Do I have to write my entire history here ? Or maybe I should share my inner discussions on stuff I hate(that's alot of stuff)? I am clueless.
Sooooo, if you want to reply, reply. If you want to troll, troll(I'll rape your cat if you do), and just as some side info, it would be so "Me-like" if no one read this, so there's a piece of information for you.
Figured this video might help you understand a bit more.
Just write about whatever you want, man. Odds are someone will feel the same way about something you write about and you can talk about it or whatever. The blog's about whatever you want it to be about ^^
That video the guy provided should be enough. Just know this: it is a stupid disease that causes most gamers to retire; which is something I REALLY hate.....
Regarding Blogs:
You LITERALLY write just whatever you want. Granted, it has to be an OP that meets TL standards, but apart from that, go nuts man. A blog really doesn't have limits.
The video probably explains it better, but the tldr is that its a nerve in your wrist being compressed. The solutions to it, like the gloves and braces that some progamers wear or even surgery, are things which are designed to ease the compression.
I did some work in a department of a hospital, where they used little electrical currents to help diagnose patients with certain symptoms and they saw a lot of people with carpal tunnel, or symptoms that pointed to carpal tunnel.
edit:Just saw that the video was only 1:50. TLDR unnecessary lol.
So, the carpal tunnel is this passageway in your wrist. There are nerves and tendons running through the wrist, and when the tendons become swollen, they can press on a major nerve, causing pain and numbness.
A lot of people think that carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by computer usage, but this hasn't been proven. To quote from the wikipedia entry on repetitive strain injury:
For example, the association of Carpal tunnel syndrome with arm use is commonly assumed but not well-established. Typing has long been thought to be the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, but recent evidence suggests that, if anything, typing may be protective.
The video posted above states that carpal tunnel can be caused by repetitive work activities, but this is also controversial. From the wikipedia article on carpal tunnel syndrome:
The international debate regarding the relationship between CTS and repetitive motion in work is ongoing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted rules and regulations regarding cumulative trauma disorders. Occupational risk factors of repetitive tasks, force, posture, and vibration have been cited. However, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) has issued a statement claiming that the current literature does not support a causal relationship between specific work activities and the development of diseases such as CTS.
(CTS = carpal tunnel syndrome.) Most of the time when people say "carpal tunnel syndrome", you should probably just assume they meant to say "repetitive strain injury".
TLDR: carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury (RSI) are two different (edit: but related) things.
So, I see that CTS is, well, bad, but can be treated, but does this mean you can get CTS or RSI by playing instruments(Guitar/bass or percussion instruments) ?
You use your wrist in both drums and guitar/bass, and most of the time your wrist will be tired after playing. I haven't seen anything about CTS/RSI when it comes to musical instruments so do you think playing could give you one of said diseases/syndromes ?
On October 31 2011 19:35 achristes wrote: So, I see that CTS is, well, bad, but can be treated, but does this mean you can get CTS or RSI by playing instruments(Guitar/bass or percussion instruments) ?
Yes, basically you can get it by doing anything that includes your hands/wrists. It's not really what you do, it's how and how long/how often you do it.
On October 31 2011 19:35 achristes wrote: So, I see that CTS is, well, bad, but can be treated, but does this mean you can get CTS or RSI by playing instruments(Guitar/bass or percussion instruments) ?
If you google "rsi musicians", the first result that comes up starts with the sentence:
Many musicians have heard horror-stories about comrades who were excellent performing artists until they developed a repetitive strain injury to the arm or hand. Then their career either temporarily stopped or was finished due to this debilitating injury.
So yes, as KeksX says it seems like RSI is just as much a problem for musicians as for pro-gamers. I would guess that it is more of a problem for classical musicians, who practice the same pieces over and over again for many hours a day.
However, from what I've seen, not everyone is equally prone to RSI. Some people will get it with any small amount of repetitive activity, others can work at a computer 18 hrs a day for years with no problem. So don't worry too much about it until you get it (besides taking the standard precautions of taking breaks, stretching, etc.).
On October 31 2011 20:00 munchmunch wrote: However, from what I've seen, not everyone is equally prone to RSI. Some people will get it with any small amount of repetitive activity, others can work at a computer 18 hrs a day for years with no problem. So don't worry too much about it until you get it (besides taking the standard precautions of taking breaks, stretching, etc.).
Well the thing is that you can things to prevent it, like proper stretches and resting your hands often enough etc. It won't be a 100% protection but it at least takes some tension off of your wrists and that definitely helps.
You shouldn't worry about it now, but it's no harm to care about your wrists/hands etc if you do anything repititive with your hands/wrists, just to be safer.
On October 31 2011 19:35 achristes wrote: So, I see that CTS is, well, bad, but can be treated, but does this mean you can get CTS or RSI by playing instruments(Guitar/bass or percussion instruments) ?
Yes, basically you can get it by doing anything that includes your hands/wrists. It's not really what you do, it's how and how long/how often you do it.
I do believe that ba posture do have a significant impact on you developing CTS or not.
Genetics may play a part as well but I havnt read a lot into this matter.
If you sit and play for long with incorrect posture you'll slowly start to experience a sense of pain in your wrist, as the tendons in you wrist get swollen up and start pushing on each other and the nerves passing through the wrist. I basically could not play for 2 weeks at all or even write down notes in class for 2-3 day because of the pain I felt in my wrist. It wasn't carpal tunnel syndrome though, however, hadn't I babied it for those 2 weeks it would have developed into a syndrome. Even still I have to be really careful with what I do with my hands and how much pressure I put on it.
I want to almost confirm that bad positioning has an impact on RSI. We've recently moved house, and there is so much crap in the garage that we've had to put all the spare boxes in my room, so I don't really have a desk to play on.
The way my PC is set up right now, I have both of my wrists bent at an awkward angle to be able to play anything. This, coupled with the continuous heavy lifting, has caused a lot of pain in my wrists.
Slowly getting better, but I've had to get wrist supports and I take breaks every 15 mins. No macro games for me Thank god I can break out BF3 instead, plenty of time for breaks in that
EPT
Thank god I can break out BF3 instead, plenty of time for breaks in that
