ASHT member Jackie Schmidt, OTR, CHT, recently manned a healthcare hotline to answer questions on hand, wrist and elbow conditions and injuries. She and Dr. Patrick Olson, an orthopedic surgeon, discuss painful hand and wrist conditions with Deseret News in Utah. Health hotline: Doctors to answer questions on hand, wrist and elbow conditions and injuries By Wendy Leonard, Deseret News Published: Thursday, Sept. 6 2012 7:35 p.m. MDT Contrary to popular belief, spending too much time at a computer keyboard doesn't necessarily lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. SALT LAKE CITY — Contrary to popular belief, spending too much time at a computer keyboard doesn't necessarily lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. The painful hand and wrist condition is common in middle-aged women, as well as for people with diabetes, hypothyroidism and those who are obese. But it isn't very prevalent in people who spend a lot of time hunched over a keyboard, said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Patrick Olson. "We're just not seeing it in younger populations that tend to do more typing and spend more time on the computer," he said. The association of the condition to occupational exposure remains unclear. Similarly, occupational hand therapist Jackie Schmidt said she has yet to see a case of tennis elbow that resulted from a patient playing too much tennis. "It's not just stiffness in your elbow," she said. "That may be one symptom, but it develops from not getting good blood supply to one of the tendons there and that can be caused by a number of things." Read more at Deseret News
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