Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

[ETpilot]

For the last several weeks I have been working hard to get my messy wood pile in order. I had a pile of pecan wood and red oak on the ground that was starting to rot. I got some old telephone poles that I had and used them for rails to get the wood off the ground. After I set up the telephone poles I diligently began to buck all the wood and stack on the rails.

During this time I started to notice that during sleep my hands would start to tingle as if they were asleep. This did not happen all the time but it was noticeable enough that I began to research the condition. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome seems to fit the symptoms.

Having gotten to the really larger logs, I needed a larger saw. So I purchased a more powerful saw last week. Now I wanted to move forward and finish with the wood pile. I started bucking until I now just have a few of the larger trunk pieces left. At the same time I had a large pine tree that had fallen in the pasture that I needed to remove. One day I worked so long that I just wore myself out and had to stop. It was just not safe to continue. After I finished the pine tree, I began working on some kindling wood that I had. I began cutting that wood seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I finished that project on Thursday. I may have overworked myself.

That Thursday night I had a very sleepless night. I had great pain in my hands. I could not find a comfortable position and passed the night as best I could. On Friday I decided to just take it easy and do nothing. My hands felt a bit swollen. I have a whirlpool bathtub so that evening I let the tub massage my hands. So Friday night I had a good and peaceful sleep. On Saturday I note that my hands are not swollen as before and were just about back to normal. I have been taking it easy the last few days and all seems normal again. I did not do anything that required hand movement; no cutting, no computer work, no nothing. Since I started taking it easy I have had a good nights sleep with no problems. I will have to monitor this condition as I start working again. I will not start working again until Tuesday so this will give it a good time to heal. If it is CTS I will have to alter how I work to minimize the condition.

My messy wood pile.

Kindling wood thread.

 

[RandyMac]

It is a quick fix, man up and see a Dr.

 

[leon]

For the last several weeks I have been working hard to get my messy wood pile in order. I had a pile of pecan wood and red oak on the ground that was starting to rot. I got some old telephone poles that I had and used them for rails to get the wood off the ground. After I set up the telephone poles I diligently began to buck all the wood and stack on the rails.

During this time I started to notice that during sleep my hands would start to tingle as if they were asleep. This did not happen all the time but it was noticeable enough that I began to research the condition. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome seems to fit the symptoms.

Having gotten to the really larger logs, I needed a larger saw. So I purchased a more powerful saw last week. Now I wanted to move forward and finish with the wood pile. I started bucking until I now just have a few of the larger trunk pieces left. At the same time I had a large pine tree that had fallen in the pasture that I needed to remove. One day I worked so long that I just wore myself out and had to stop. It was just not safe to continue. After I finished the pine tree, I began working on some kindling wood that I had. I began cutting that wood seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I finished that project on Thursday. I may have overworked myself.

That Thursday night I had a very sleepless night. I had great pain in my hands. I could not find a comfortable position and passed the night as best I could. On Friday I decided to just take it easy and do nothing. My hands felt a bit swollen. I have a whirlpool bathtub so that evening I let the tub massage my hands. So Friday night I had a good and peaceful sleep. On Saturday I note that my hands are not swollen as before and were just about back to normal. I have been taking it easy the last few days and all seems normal again. I did not do anything that required hand movement; no cutting, no computer work, no nothing. Since I started taking it easy I have had a good nights sleep with no problems. I will have to monitor this condition as I start working again. I will not start working again until Tuesday so this will give it a good time to heal. If it is CTS I will have to alter how I work to minimize the condition.

My messy wood pile.

Kindling wood thread.

Yes, you have it unfortunately and it does not go away, it gets worse and there is no altering a work pattern!!

When you really get bad you can no longer hold a coffee cup when removing it from a microwave oven or another fun example is when you are driving along you fail to realise that your hand is pulling the wheel to the left hand crossing the double line or the right hand crossing the fog line/danger line on the right.

Alas,

Tis a same day procedure nowadays, but it takes 3 plus weeks to heal moderately enough to allow you to return to work because it hurts to move the paws even to stretch ones fingers and use the bathroom for serious business......

The pain will become so bad that you will have trouble holding a spoon or a fork or a coffee cup-yes, ouch, get the ice cubes because I spilled the coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, and you will need to take Tylenol to be able to sleep through the night.

The Moral of the story is that after you are X rayed you will be told that it is not bad enough to deal with yet until you cannot attempt to do and accomplish normal everyday tasks safely which in turn permits the surgeon to examine the carpal tunnel and release the tension which has accumulated over years of repetitive tasks.

A smal Tee incision is made and the folds are pulled back to permit the surgeon to release the pressure in the joint and then all you can do is simply sit around and heal because there is nothing else to as your arm is in a sling. It does hurt but over a couple of weeks you will heal and the sutures will be removed and its a bit painfull when they get removed and then the healing begins again and you have to keep it clean and dry and you just have to sit around and heal up. If you have a car with an automatic transmission you can drive after a couple of weeks with the other hand if desired but its up to you surgeon when you can do things.

 

[bert0168]

It is a quick fix, man up and see a Dr.

What he said. :msp_thumbsup:

I'm going for my follow up after testing last week to schedule my surgery, going to see if they will do both hands at the same time.

But I wonder how I'll wipe my azz :msp_ohmy:

 

[Mr Good Wood]

get wrist supports, had pains shooting up my arm and numbness/ tingling and could not sleep, got wrist supports for cutting and splitting and the pain is gone.

 

[mdavlee]

It will only get worse. There's a few things you can do to lessen the pain sometimes. It was bothering me real bad there a year and a half ago but when I got home and done with that job it went away slowly. It's not too bad now and doesn't bother me unless I do a lot of repetitive stuff. I notice sawing it's the vibes a lot of times but the shape of the rear handle on the saw.

 

[Gologit]

Don't wait for it to get worse.

I toughed it out for too many years and last year I had both hands done...and both elbows. I didn't have any other choice. The pain was constant and, worse than that, I just flat couldn't use my hands anymore.

I got to the point where I lost almost all the fine motor dexterity in both hands, couldn't pick up coins or button my shirt. There was also an almost total loss of hand strength. My hands and forearms were numb most of the time. I still ran saw but it was really tough.

The operations brought back a lot of dexterity and strength but if I'd had them done sooner I would have had a better recovery.

Don't be a dummy like I was, don't play tough guy and ignore the symptoms. Don't wait too long. If you do you may not get the full use of your hands back.

And...you'll have to wear one of these goofy looking boxing glove things for about three weeks.

 

[513yj]

I remember my grandpa talking to a tree service buddy about white knuckle disease years ago. Something to check into if you use chainsaws or vibrating tools a lot.

 

[Iska3]

Good advice. You remind me of myself. I keep putting things off.

The guy down the road kept putting it off and come haying season he went to see the doctor; his wife and I put up 4,000 bales of his hay while he sat in a chair like you...

Kind'a felt sorry for the guy, the temps got up to 102 degrees when I was up in his barn stacking hay with his wife in a skimpy top.. He got a little upset when I came back down and went back up with a 12 pack.

Little did he know at the time, I stacked all the hay while she was watching him from the door. After that he treated her like a queen and never asked me for any help. :msp_wink:

Don't put it off because you never know who might be doing your chores. :rolleyes2:

I toughed it out for too many years and last year I had both hands done...and both elbows. I didn't have any other choice. The pain was constant and, worse than that, I just flat couldn't use my hands anymore.

I got to the point where I lost almost all the fine motor dexterity in both hands, couldn't pick up coins or button my shirt. There was also an almost total loss of hand strength. My hands and forearms were numb most of the time. I still ran saw but it was really tough.

The operations brought back a lot of dexterity and strength but if I'd had them done sooner I would have had a better recovery.

Don't be a dummy like I was, don't play tough guy and ignore the symptoms. Don't wait too long. If you do you may not get the full use of your hands back.

And...you'll have to wear one of these goofy looking boxing glove things for about three weeks.

 

[BrokenToys]

<-- fellow CTS sufferer as well; and definitely get it examined by a good doctor and get it fixed. There are exercises to do too along with the most important part...Rest! Don't push it; your body knows when it isn't right and it lets you know.

I almost lost out on a lot of sports and my martial arts because of it. Took the time and got it fixed and now almost good as new.

 

[LegDeLimber]

When you get ready to have it worked on, you'll need to practice some things ahead of time.
If you're only getting one hand done at a time,
you need to start practicing doing things with the other hand.

and Yeah, toilet paper is good one to get some practice with
before you can't wash your own hands worth a flip.

holding flatware to eat with is another one.

 

[Philbert]

So . . . carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a specific disorder related to a specific nerve ('ulnar nerve') in a specific location in your wrist ('carpal' is Latin for 'wrist'). Why is this important? Because there are a number of other disorders that produce similar symptoms, and having 'the surgery' won't be effective it that nerve is compressed somewhere else, or if it is a different nerve, or a tendon or blood vessel problem, etc.

You need to see a good doctor to accurately diagnose your specific problem.

Vibration, and chainsaw use, is also associated with a number of vascular problems, sometimes referred to as 'white finger', Raynaud's phenomenon, or collectively as 'hand-arm vibration syndrome'. You can look any of these up on WebMD, Wikipedia, etc. for more info.

What else can you do:
- use saws that vibrate less. E.g newer saws with better vibration dampening. Most manufacturers now publish some of this data;
- keep the saws tuned and the chain sharp and uniform to minimize cutting vibration. Use low vibe chain and avoid aggressive depth gauge settings;
- avoid cutting frozen wood;
- wear high quality Anti-Vibration (A/V) gloves - these have gel or air bubbles inside and make a big difference. Can be $30 - $50 a pair;
- wear full fingered gloves - cold exposure is linked to making vibration exposure more damaging (hence chainsaw use in winter multiplies the risks).

These practices won't necessarily reverse the symptoms, but can help slow the progress, keep some symptoms from getting worse, and protect others from getting the symptoms.


Philbert

 

[HuskStihl]

It is a quick fix, man up and see a Dr.

It doesn't sound like you are a professional chainsaw user. In this case that is very good. Hold off on doctors/surgeries for now. Quit sawing for a couple of weeks, and buy some walgreens wrist splints to keep you from flexing you wrists at night. This is an overuse injury, rest it and let it recover. Manly men like Bob and Randy who cut for a living have no choice, but when the wrists and/or elbows start acting up, it's time to hang it u for a while and focus on your day job. Bob is right, once you get muscle atrophy, it's too late to get it all back, even with surgery

 

[HuskStihl]

.

When they get around to making the movie about west coast loggers, it looks like Wilford Brimley's a shoe-in to play Bob. Unless that would represent a trip to banned camp, in which case I meant to say Harrison Ford!

 

[Gologit]

When they get around to making the movie about west coast loggers, it looks like Wilford Brimley's a shoe-in to play Bob. Unless that would represent a trip to banned camp, in which case I meant to say Harrison Ford!

Wilford Brimley? Dammit, I was thinking somebody younger. Much younger. Better looking too.

Start packing.

 

[DSS]

Well I learned something today. I been wondering what was the problem with my hands. Guess I'm off to the doc.

 

[ETpilot]

Wow, a lot of gloom and doom here. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I have already been thinking of seeing a doctor. Tomorrow I plan on finding wrist splints. I'm a pretty active person and constantly working on something. Slowing down on activity would sure be a downer for me.

Just today I planned on just taking it easy. Well, a friend called me from the airport. We had a storm pass thru and some straight line winds and hail had hit the airport. A roof panel had been blown loose from my hanger. So I had to go there and temporarily put the panel back in place. Lots of water inside. Minimal damage for me. Others not so luck. One hangar was blown in with extensive damage, one had half the roof blown off, and others with various degree of damage. Always something going on.

 

[cantoo]

I've had it for a few years now. Yamaha V star vibration really set it off during 1000 km rides, got so bad it felt like my hand was on fire. Sold it and bought a Honda VTX 1800, still vibrates but I get down the road faster. Mouse work makes it much worse so I use scroll and keys more. My daily job building scaffolding doesn't cause much pain but am planning on operation on right hand next winter. I've been putting it off long enough and my wife is tired of my complaining.

 

[stihly dan]

I experienced something similar awhile back. What I realized was that I was clinching my fists while sleeping. I made myself a sort of splint glove to wear to bed. In days the hands where as good as new. Now i don't need the splints, the hands are trained to stay open.

 

[Philbert]

When they get around to making the movie about west coast loggers, it looks like Wilford Brimley's a shoe-in to play Bob. Unless that would represent a trip to banned camp, in which case I meant to say Harrison Ford!

How about this guy (looks tough enough to be a Mod!)?

Philbert