Joe A Shaw PA-C - 3/31/2008

Question
I'm a 58 years old woman in  good health. In January, I had to empty large
bookcases and carry thousands of books in a very short period of time. I
noticed a pain in both my wrists the day before I left  for France where I have
been working and traveling, carrying suitcases, until last week. While I was
away, I noticed some swelling in both my wrists and felt occasional pain and
less dexterity. Now that I am back in  Montreal I feel more constant pain,
maybe because of the cold. I tried to get an appointment with my doctor but
she won't be available until July. I will try to get some medical help
elsewhere.The strain has been there for more than two months now and I
realize I should do something now because I feel even simple daily gestures
are becoming difficult. What is the first step I should take?

Answer
Yolande,
It doesn't sound like carpal tunnel syndrome...you don't mention numbness or tingling in the hand or fingers. It sounds more like what we call overuse syndrome or tendonitis, of course you can't be sure unless you have a proper exam and tests. I would go with some daily tendon and nerve glide exercises for the wrists and hands. Assuming you don't have arthritis I would try Ice to the wirst 2-3 x day x 10-15 mins followed by moist heat x 5-10 mins followed by the exercises. Also if you can take tylenol or Motrin per label this would help. You would need to do this for several weeks to see if it will help. If the ice makes it worse then you have some degree of arthritis and I would just skip the ice part.
Do not wrap the wrist with tensor bandages or what we call ACE wraps..these can cause swelling.

http://www.carpal-tunnel-symptoms.com/carpal-tunnel-exercises.html