"By nature, I’m a skeptic. When my brother-in-law suggested I try an elastic band for my carpal tunnel problems, I quietly laughed. After explaining to me that the band was impregnated with semiconductors, I laughed some more. In fact, I continued laughing while wearing a band immediately after a particularly painful episode of my condition. However, my laughter stopped when I realized something--the band, in fact, did work!
Unfortunately, the "band" was given to me after I went through several months of conventional treatment for my condition. This included the use of a fitted removable cast in addition to two to three hour-long hand therapy sessions over a period of six weeks. I am curious as to whether or not the use of the "band" would have shortened the treatment time."

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"What we know is any abnormality or any disease that will cause the lining of those tendons to become inflamed can cause carpal tunnel syndrome," hand surgeon Dr. Jim Roderique said.

Ailments such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease and gout often are culprits. Others are pregnancy, birth control pills and sudden weight gain, which causes fluid retention.

Still, findings published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine show the real cause of hand pain is often misdiagnosed.
In the study, two-thirds of patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome actually had underlying medical conditions or were obese.

Then why are workplace activities often blamed?
"If one is sitting on the edge, so-to-speak, strenuous, continuous use of the hand doing particular movements can precipitate carpal tunnel syndrome. I didn't say cause; I said precipitate," Roderique said.

Doctors say in that many states, the laws are not in sync with what is known in medicine, and the workplace is left to foot the medical bills.