[Tom Edgerton]

Me too, darn it!

These have worked for me:

1) My wife is an (extremely talented) public relations specialist, but as a result, types and mouses all day. She has a tendency toward carpal tunnel, as I do. An orthopedist showed her some simple stretching exercises for wrists and hands that we do as we watch the tube. (Might be worth a consult with your local practitioner, too.)

Briefly, they go as follows:

(In all of these positions, your forearms are parallel to the floor. Hold all of these for a count of ten to fifteen.)

a) Stretch out your hands and fingers as straight as possible, at a right angle to your forearms and pointing up. Try to fold the backs of your hands to your forearms (you can't really, but that's the direction of the stretch).

b) From position "a", turn your hands and fingers down so they point straight out in line with your forearms, palms to the floor. Splay out your fingers and palms to get a good stretch.

c) From position "b", make fists, and squeeze. Backs of your hands are toward the ceiling.

d) From position "c", bend/fold the fists (your knuckles) down toward the floor.(Imagine trying to touch the underside of your wrists with your nails.) This will stretch the backs of your hands and wrists, and the tops of the forearms.

Repeat as desired. These feel really good.

2) I find that when I do general weight work at the gym, it helps with this also.

3) I have a massage therapist that I see 3-4 times a year, who does deep muscle work on my shoulders, arms, wrists, and fingers. She's worth her weight in gold.

4) My massage person had me apply castor oil (!) to my forearms and wrists and wrap them in plastic wrap when I sleep (castor oil is gooey). The wrap helps generate heat, too. Really helps take the ache out when things get bad. It ain't sexy (!), but it works.

5) Dean Paules, the renowned portraitist, has a chronic problem with bursitis and tendonitis in his shoulder and arm. He's a former engineer, and attacked it by rigging a counter-weighted sling to hold his painting arm in a neutral balance. Says it's helped immensely. It's a radical solution, but hey...

Anyone else have a fix?