# Carpal tunnel syndrome--what happened to it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-what-happened-to-it/839409>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 29, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-what-happened-to-it/839409 "2019-08-29T12:23:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-what-happened-to-it/839409/21 "2019-08-30T08:22:23Z")

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It’s probably more common now for people to talk abut RSI (repetitive strain injury) which encompasses far more than the specific diagnosis of carpel tunnel. Additionally, there was a sharp increase in diagnosis between in the ‘80s and ‘90s, which is probably why many people now in early middle age remember that particular problem.

[This study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633642/) has quite a bit of information about incidence over time and says that even though diagnosis is still increasing, surgery rates have declined. This is probably because we’ve gotten better about diagnosing RSI issues before they get bad enough to necessitate surgery. In the study, they mention several times that older patients tend to have worse injuries.

This bit directly addresses mainstream news reporting:

> [@](#):
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> Possibilities for reduced CTS mentioned in the lay press include ergonomic changes, early recognition of symptoms with work modification before they become reportable problems, lack of faithful reporting of musculoskeletal disorders by employers, and the changing priorities of unions.40 These possibilities deserve further study because of the health implications for workers.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-what-happened-to-it/839409/22 "2019-08-30T08:32:15Z")

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> [@Wolf333](#):
>
> Thrusting office manager?

Those bosses in office jobs who treat every subordinate as their personal masturbatory aid. The ones who don’t have subordinates but underlings.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-what-happened-to-it/839409/23 "2019-08-30T08:47:25Z")

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> [@Joey\_P](#):
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> WAG, it’s when all the women working in the steno pool had been on the job 10-15 years. I could be wrong, but I thought I’d heard that that the steepness of a typewriter keyboard can cause it.

Only if you’re holding your hands wrong, but “you’re doing it wrong” is a factor behind a looooot of RSIs. My typing teacher emphasized positioning and changing position slightly through the typing period in ways specifically aimed to reduce injury, but not everybody had her to teach them. I find that most computer keyboards force me into a worse position than my Olivetti.

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