Cracking your knuckles does not lead to arthritis nor does typing cause carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, says Jessica Frankenhoff, M.D., “Typing actually helps prevent carpal tunnel.” A specialist in carpal tunnel syndrome and hand-related surgery at Stony Point Surgery Center, Frankenhoff says that the sound we hear when someone “cracks” his knuckles is popped “air bubbles from a created vacuum” surrounding the knuckles.
An inevitable symptom of carpal tunnel is tingling due to a lack of blood flow to the hands. “Eventually the tingling progresses and you get permanent numbness, ” said Frankenhoff, who added that the numbness can turn into pain within months, or take several years. While some have carpal tunnel syndrome in one hand, Frankenhoff said that most patients have it in both. Some find that they can ease the pain by wearing splints on their hands at night, but if the pain increases surgery is required. According to Nathan Cushing, writing in RVANEWS, about 3% of women and 2% of men will develop the condition.
The carpal tunnel is a narrow space in the wrist through which tendons and nerves pass. The syndrome develops when those nerves and tendons become inflamed, creating pressure in the wrist. “Because there is a fixed space” in the carpal tunnel, said Frankenhoff, “the pressure goes up and collapses the blood vessels” causing the tingling, numbness, and pain.
“The surgery itself is literally cutting the ligament, ” said Frankenhoff, adding that that a recurrence post-surgery is extremely rare. She says that a way for patients to avoid the likelihood of developing carpal tunnel syndrome is to watch their weight. Obese individuals have increased odds of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, as do women. There is one thing that people can do to keep from developing carpal tunnel and that is yoga. “Yoga is the one thing that has actually been shown to help, ” she said.
