Does Gardening Cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Can Carpal Tunnel Syndrome be caused by something as pleasant as gardening? Well, here’s a little history. A “syndrome” is a collection of symptoms. “Symptoms” are the pain, numbness, weakness or tingling you feel in your hand and arm. There are a lot of muscles that can cause symptoms in your hand, fingers and arms. And, what do we use when we garden? Yes! Muscles! So, it’s possible that you could actually get a diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by gardening. Maybe that’s what you have or maybe it’s muscle strain or repetitive use injury. But the good news is: If gardening is what’s causing your symptoms that means muscles are involved. And muscles are treatable! (I love muscles!) And, it’s not just the muscles around your “carpal tunnel” either! Your symptoms can come from your upper back, chest and neck, too. There are other causes but muscles tie into the most common causes. Here are six tips to prevent hand, wrist and arm pain from gardening: 1. Pull weeds straight up rat
