Todd, no to my son having MC and Carpel Tunnel. However, about 2/12 years ago I was having pain in my wrists. I went to my son's MC doctor. He said that he felt I need to take the test he'd first given Keith to make sure I did not have MC. I did...it was the most painful thing I ever did. I did not show MC on that test and was diagnosed with carpel tunnel. I was given vitamin B12 and I had severe panic attacks immediately. I was taken off of B12 in two day. I then wore arm braces for over 1 month...and no pain and stopped wearing them. I have never had the pain again. I continue to type and do all the things that carpel tunnel people should keep away from. NO problem here. Truthfully, I think I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel and I did not have it. I believe it was just one of the quin drug floxing/poisoning that was warning me to stay away from those drugs. So again, I want to warn people who have MC to make sure they never take a fluroquin drug like Avelox, Cipro, Factive, Leviquin..just read Jan's list of them. They are not for people with MC and will definitely harm those with MC if not the first time, they will bite you for sure. Hope this helps. Again, I was tested for MC because of my son, diagnosed with carpel and don't have carpel at all. Good luck Todd.

Todd, in my experience as a rehab therapist I can tell you that carpal tunnel syndrome is almost always caused by nerve damage or impingement in the cervical spine which would be from the base of your skull down seven vertebrae. There is also something called thoracic outlet syndrome which can give symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The only way to know for sure is to get a nerve conduction study. I personally believe the reason we see so much associated with repetitive use like typing is because of posture. When we sit for long periods or use tools we tend to have our neck bent and that puts pressure on the nerves. If you have a slight bulging or herniation of a disc in your neck that's all it takes.

I have never known of successful surgery for carpal tunnel but have seen it cripple many people for life. Good chiropractic work and massage therapy are probably the best treatments. We also use something called a posture pump to open up the disc space as well as an inversion table (used by rocking at a slight incline, not by hanging upside down).

B6 does help some people but again, focus first on posture and getting your neck aligned properly. It's not in any way connected with myotonia congenita, but MC can definitely make neck spasms worse once the nerves are inflamed coming from the spine.

Jan

Bingo! I'm an RN, but I have been a case manager, a desk job, for many years. In 2003, I started having pains and burning and all sorts of symptoms in my arms and hands. It fot progressively worse and worse, and eventually I had pain, burning, weakness, numbness, decreased control, and it went all the way up to my neck, shoulders and upper back. Well, after about a year and a half of therapies, exercises, cortisone shots, all sorts of braces - I was convinced that there were no viable alternatives except surgery. I was assured that my probability of total recovery and regaining of former capacity was "99.6%" . . . well- the EMG (which totally coincidentally is what diagnosed my MC) showed both carpal tunnel and de Quervain's syndromes bilaterally. Thoracic outlet and cervical spine impingement were ruled out. I had the surgeries done in December 2005 and January 2006, plus a revision/redo of the left de Quervain's in November 2006 - I have not been able to do much of anything since, and am now permanently disabled - I now believe the risks of the surgeries are much higher than the supposed statistics claim, and there is a book you should read, called Dr. Pascarelli's Complete Guide to Repetitive Strain Injury. I bought it used on Amazon. Get it, read it!!! Take it seriously. And I will tell you one more thing - all the therapies, massages, ultrasound and TENS treatments and most of the exercises they gave me to do exacerbated the problems significantly - the damage was too bad, and perhaps the MC contributed to the sensitivity and soreness and tenderness all these modalities caused. Very good luck to all who have any form of RSI - and I really can't stress enough how important it is to educate yourselves and be proactively involved in determining your care plans - read that book!!! Happy holidays- lois