Most frequent computer users have experienced this: typing for a long time or using the mouse for too long, the wrist will have a sore and swollen feeling, but few people know that in the long run may induce a disease – carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a closed bony fibrous tunnel made of bone and ligaments. The tunnel is enclosed by the transverse carpal ligament and the carpal sulcus, which looks like an arch bridge in cross-section: the transverse carpal ligament lies between the navicular bone, the pisiform bone, and the hook bone, and the tendons of the median nerve, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor digitorum longus pass through the tunnel. Under normal circumstances, the activities of the flexor tendons in the carpal tunnel do not affect the median nerve, but because the bones and ligaments that make up the carpal tunnel are inelastic and the tunnel lumen is narrow, when the size of the flexor tendons in the carpal tunnel increases or the gap in the carpal tunnel becomes smaller, the carpal tunnel becomes narrower and the median nerve is compressed, thus causing carpal tunnel syndrome. Since the median nerve innervates the sensory area of the hand in the thumb, index finger, middle finger and half of the ring finger, the clinical symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are numbness, tingling and severe pain in the fingers, mostly in the thumb, index finger and middle finger. The pain may radiate to the shoulder and elbow, and the pain is worse at night and in the morning. In severe cases, the large interphalangeal muscle atrophy or paralysis of varying degrees, the thumb dysfunction, dry skin, flaking, brittle nails and other phenomena. It’s the mouse that’s to blame? The real cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is not yet fully understood. As the syndrome mostly occurs in female manual workers, it is generally believed that may be related to chronic strain and endocrine. In recent years, due to the popularity of computers, the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome has increased dramatically, and it is not clear whether the regular use of the keyboard and mouse is the real cause of this disease. As people who use computers, such as Internet users, are exposed to computers for a long time every day, repeatedly typing on the keyboard and moving the mouse, the wrist joints gradually form paralysis and pain in the wrist joints due to long-term intensive, repeated and excessive activities, which is a “cumulative trauma disorder”. If this symptom is ignored for a long time, it may lead to nerve damage and atrophy of the hand muscles. Carpal tunnel syndrome is not only a problem for computer users, but also for other professions that use their hands frequently, such as musicians, teachers, editors, journalists, architects and miners. According to data, women are the biggest victims of carpal tunnel syndrome, with the incidence of the disease three times higher than that of men, with most of them aged 30-60. This is because women’s carpal tunnel is usually smaller than men’s and the median nerve is easily compressed. In addition, some pregnant women, people with rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, hypertension and thyroid dysfunction are also susceptible. There are various diagnostic methods for carpal tunnel syndrome, the following are often used in the clinical diagnosis process: Wrist flexion test: the patient’s elbows are placed on the table, the forearms are perpendicular to the table, the two wrists are squeezed and bent, the median nerve is pressed against the proximal edge of the transverse carpal ligament, after 40 seconds, if the test subject feels pain or numbness, then the preliminary diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome is possible. Radiographic examination: A frontal and lateral radiograph of the wrist is taken to see if there is a localized bony lesion. Electromyography: electromyography can show whether there is any change in the median nerve score, that is, whether there is any change in the median nerve, which is a more accurate diagnosis. Prevention is better than treatment There are various treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome, but they are not very effective. Patients with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome can take oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics and use braces to relieve the wear and tear on the wrist, or the wrist can be immobilized in a specific resting position for 1 to 2 weeks with a cast to reduce the compression of the median nerve. The treatment can also be achieved by promoting blood flow through topical Chinese medicine and wrist massage. Patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome are treated with wrist decompression surgery. Since there is no good treatment available. People who often use their wrists for a single movement should pay attention to carpal health care, take more rest and do some relaxing movements of the wrist. The main prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome is to optimize the environment on the machine. For example, you can choose a comfortable personal chair for yourself, and to adjust to the appropriate height; the computer will be placed in a well-ventilated place; to pay attention to the correct way of operation, to strengthen self-protection, do not sit or stand for too long; sitting back should be straight and lean against the back of the chair, do not cross the feet, so as not to affect blood circulation; typing computer keyboard to be square, not oblique on the side, otherwise it will lead to excessive wrist bending Tension; keyboard placement height and parallel distance from the body should be adjusted to typing feel comfortable and comfortable position; at the same time to combine work and rest, every 15 minutes to take a break, a short break can prevent fatigue; every 60 minutes from the computer to walk away, do some light physical exercise, relax the hand muscles and tension in the body and mind. Often apply the computer operation of the best use of the mouse pad with protective function.