Day in and day out from 8am up to 5pm, you are right in front of your computer, tapping your fingers on the keyboard as fast as you can just so to beat the deadline of those articles that have to be done. You are working at your desk, trying to ignore the tingling or numbness you have had for months in your hand and wrist. Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain shoots through the wrist and up your arm. "This maybe just a passing cramp", you thought to yourself as you are still feeling the ache of it. Think twice, lady because most likely you have carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful progressive condition caused by compression of a key nerve in the wrist. It occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist. The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and fingers, as well as impulses to some small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move.
Sometimes, swelling from irritated tendons or other kinds of thickening narrows the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed. The effect may be soreness, weakness, or numbness in the hand and wrist that goes up the arm. Although painful sensations may indicate other conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body's peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized.
Did you know that women are three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome? You heard it right. This is not to scare the ladies out there but for awareness sake as proven by science. It is because the carpal tunnel itself may be smaller in women than in men. The dominant hand is usually affected first and produces the most severe pain. Persons with diabetes or other metabolic disorders that directly affect the body's nerves and make them more susceptible to compression are also at high risk but it usually appears to the adults.
The danger of developing carpal tunnel syndrome is not limited to a certain demographic of people like those in a single industry such as manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning and poultry packing. Truth is, carpal tunnel syndrome is three times more common among assemblers than among data-entry personnel. A 2001 study by the Mayo Clinic found heavy computer use (up to 7 hours a day) did not increase a person's risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
During 1998, an estimated three of every 10,000 workers lost time from work because of carpal tunnel syndrome. Half of these workers missed more than 10 days of work. The average lifetime cost of carpal tunnel syndrome, including medical bills and lost time from work, is estimated to be about $30,000 for each injured worker.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is somewhat similar to the mustard seed principle where it starts small that you hardly even notice it but can end up really big as to paralyzing those arms.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common form of repetitive stress injury, which usually occurs when a person's wrists are exposed to continuous strain on a regular basis. Tissues surrounding the wrist tendons become so enlarged that they compress the median nerve, which runs through a passage in the wrist known as the carpal tunnel. The compression caused the following problems: Numbness, tingling and pain in the hand, wrist and forearm Impaired or lost nerve function Reduced muscle control Reduced grip strength
Due to the mushrooming dilemma, the government of Illinois thought of a solution for those who have been stricken by the carpal tunnel syndrome disability. Their officials then passed a bill under the Workers' Compensation Act.
According to their Supreme Court, "even if CTS develops gradually and not as the result of a sudden mishap", those with carpal tunnel syndrome disability can be compensated from the onset of the disorder under the Workers' Compensation Act.
The law states that the person is entitled to receive a 100 percent share of all medical expenses that are deemed reasonable and necessary to treat the condition.
It is also of great benefit to the casualty because they are not forced to pay any deductions with no dollar limitations placed on the treatment. While under diagnostic, the person with carpal tunnel syndrome disability still has temporary total compensation. This is based on a percentage of the average weekly wage, including overtime.
Under the provisions of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, the person with carpal tunnel syndrome disability's employer or the insurance company is legally required to begin the payment within 14 days of the date that the individual reported the onset of CTS.
When he or she returns from work after days of medication, he or she is allowed to collect a salary for the permanent partial loss of use of the affected hands and arms as a result of contracting CTS while on the job. Such compensation is called permanent partial disability compensation (PPD), and is received as the result of a settlement agreement between the person with carpal tunnel syndrome disability and the employer or as the result of the decision of the arbitrator assigned to the claim.
If it is necessary to accept a lower-paying job because of inability to perform the responsibilities of the usual and customary employment, he or she may be entitled to added benefits equal to two-thirds (2/3) of the salary difference based on the average gross weekly wage earned before the development of CTS.