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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome not a Disability
An Anonymous Coward writes: "It turns out that the Supreme Court of the United States doesn't think Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a real disability. See here for details." Read the summary or the whole opinion. In a nutshell: just because a woman was sufficiently disabled that she couldn't perform her job due to carpal-tunnel, doesn't mean she was sufficiently disabled to be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Everyone who has that nagging pain in your wrists should probably read this decision.
CPS seemed pretty real when a friend of mine got it a couple of years back. She couldn't type or write much, which severely impeded her completing her academic studies. She had to get an automatic car (relatively unusual in the UK) so she could drive mostly one-handed. It caused her pain and discomfort for several months. If this isn't a disability under US law, then US law is broken.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
This is interesting. The court is basically saying that if you can do "everyday life tasks" (brushing your hair, cooking dinner, whatever), you're not disabled for the purposes of the ADA. But on my disability policy, it states that if I can't do my regular job, they consider me disabled. Since my job (like most of yours) involves lots of typing, losing both legs wouldn't make me disabled, but C-T would. So now the question is, how does this court decision affect my policy? Can I expect a call from my agent telling me they've changed their definition to line up with the court?
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
I had a PS/2 interface installed in my head. Unfortunately, when i had my neural implant done in 1996, i didn't forsee USB or firewire. No neuralpr0n. :(
Actually, i use a different technique Than the one which is taught to be proper - i learned on my own. Almost failed typing class even though I typed faster than the techer (90WPM against her 75) After a good 14 years of typing at least 8 hours a day (with very few exceptions), i can honestly say the only pain i feel is in my *fingers* (go figure).
Isn't OSHA supposed to step in somewhere? Do companies actually not realize that it's in their interest to attempt to ensure that their workers' jobs can be performed without injuring them?
Also from the article:
So pursuing a livelihood doesn't meet the ADA criterion of "major life activity"?OK,
- B
http://www.bradheintz.com/
- updated
Take Aikido.
Aikido focuses on joint locks, which include wrist locks. After taking Aikido you will quickly have wrists that can withstand the rigors of typing. Flexible wrists are the key to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, IMO, and Aikido is the key to flexible wrists.
Or you could just wait for speach recognition.
There are several excerises for the prevention ff the Carpel Tunnel Sindrome Here.
Anybody who spends lots of time in front the computer should check that link
Maybe you should have made contingency plans for the possibility that you might lose your fingers or vision in the future. I'm a software developer (M.Sc. in '92) and I've got an insurance on my fingers and eyesight.
This decision just means that if you can't do one thing, but could do something else, it's not your employer's responsibility to accommodate you -- it's your responsibility to find a job that you can do. I don't think this really changes things for people who have disabilities (e.g., blindness) which would require accommodation in almost all circumstances. And it certainly doesn't single out carpel tunnel as not being a disability. If you had a case of carpel tunnel that made it difficult for you to do most jobs, ADA would still apply.
-Esme
Maybe this confirms my thinking that the mouse is an ergonomic nightmare and one should stay away from GUI-centric editors and do it all on the keyboard.
There's no reason to even let CTS become an issue to you; work out your hand while you're sitting there mulling over a piece of code and not only will it make your hands feel a lot more nimble, it'll sooth the inflammation that causes that numb feeling.
I have no personal investment in these things, this isn't a plug. Just something I started doing once my fingers got numb one day and the effect was nearly immediate, my hand felt better within a few hours.
For the link dependent, here is another person saying pretty much the same thing (with some other ideas, which I'm not exactly prepared to try out ;).
While I agree about computer usage, CT can be caused by other factors. For example: we just had our first kid. As we found out, CT can sometimes be brought on by hormone fluctuations post-partum. This is the case with my wife. I've never known anyone with severe CT, but now I know how excruciating it can be. She's often unable to lift our child and she certainly can't drive a car. It may be temporary (we certainly hope so), but in the meantime, it's pretty debilitating.
I read an article a while back that claimed that the cause of most carpal tunnel syndrome was the use of the mouse rather than the keyboard.
From personal experience being a programming who has used dvorak for 3 years, and using as many keyboard shortcuts as possible, I've never had a problem with carpal tunnel.
Moreover, Justice O' Connor pointed out that the test under the ADA is whether or not a person's disability affects his or her to perform normal daily tasks--not his or her ability to perform a specific job.
In fact, the ADA specifically states that this is the test. As Justice O'Connor wrote, "Repetitive work with hands and arms extended at or above shoulder levels for extended periods is not an important part of most people's daily lives," O'Connor wrote. "Household chores, bathing and brushing one's teeth, in contrast, are among the types of manual tasks of central importance to people's daily lives." In sharp contrast to the rather extreme and dire view suggested by the story posting <rant>(which, in my view, is either misleading and downright shameful or simply reflects a total lack of understanding of the decision and the governing laws)</rant>, the Justices did not rule on the validity of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; they simply verified the intention of the ADA as written and asked the lower court to reconsider its decision.
In this case, the court held that the woman was not impaired in normal daily tasks, in spite of the fact that she was impaired in her job. There is a critical distinction here, and I firmly agree with the limitations placed on the ADA by the court here.
-db
In fact, the article clearly states:
The ruling does not mean that anyone with carpal tunnel syndrome or similar partial disabilities is automatically excluded from protection by the ADA. But it probably will make such claims harder to prove, since the court makes clear that disability must affect a range of manual tasks or duties.
Well, for starters, the Court did not rule that carpal tunnel syndrom is not a disability. They ruled that the woman in question was not disabled from carpal tunnel syndrome.
The law already makes clear just what this snippet from the article says. I think that in many cases, employers and insurance companies are concerned with the political backlash that may come from a close interpretation (that is, applying the law as written) of the law.
Nonetheless, the law is clear that you aren't disabled if you can't perform your job...there is a much broader test to be satisfied to determine a disability.
Certainly there would be a big bonanza for the plaintiff if an ADA violation was proved, but I wonder if this would have been more appropriately handled as a Workman's Compensation case? After all, she claimed that her injury came from a work-related situation...that seems tailor-made for a Workman's Comp case.
Of course, the cynical side of my must point out there there is a lot more money to be had from an ADA lawsuit...
-h-
Anyhow. Going through his chart I noted that he had a long history of letting his glycemic control get out from under him. He was a little out of it (thanks to the DKA) but was awake enough to give a pretty decent history. He was feeling a little off for a few days, but basically ignored it. Made no adjustments to his insulin regimen, nor did he seek medical attention until he was in pretty rough metabolic shape.
I asked some pretty basic questions to get an idea of his disease state. He'd been diabetic from a very young age, always controlled with insulin, but didn't have a glucometer with which to check his blood sugar. Every diabetic should be checking their blood sugars with some degree of regularity. Why didn't he have one? He couldn't afford it.
Couldn't afford it? Oooookay. I knew he hadn't been living with his parents for a few years, so he was out and fending for himself. Fair enough, but I gathered that he had to have some sort of income... not only to pay his rent, but to explain the Tommy Hilfiger branded shirt, designer jeans, and brand new Nikes he was wearing on his feet. So I asked him what he did for a living.
"Nothing. I'm on disability."
"Oh? What for?" I asked, thinking I had missed something. Instead he looked at me like he thought I was completely looney-tunes.
"For diabetes, of course." He snorted.
Not only was this guy munching up our public medical system's budget with his repeated and mostly preventable frequent flyer visits to the emergency department, but he was receiving government funding for his "disability". Sure, his diabetes was poorly controlled, but not because of the disease itself, but because this guy basically didn't give a flying fuck.
Ultimately, I don't know what pissed me off more. There, of course, is the fact that this guy was milking his disease for disability benefits when thousands upon thousants of diabetics work and live and survive in the real world just fine, thank you. On top of that, some physician somewhere, at some time, had to sign the papers designating his patient as qualifying for government assistance because of his diabetes. I mean, crap, if I have asthma, can I get a cheque too?
Granted, there's probably a whole psychosocial dimension to the story I haven't explored, but the entire situation does have to strike you as being more than a little absurd. To get back to the Slashdot story, I do think that there are musculoskeletal conditions that affect the wrists enough to severely impair one's ability to perform a great number of tasks, as well as being distressingly painful to boot. But a large majority of people who have repetitive strain injuries or "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" can benefit from antiinflammatories, physiotherapy, and appropriate work modification (ergonomics and the like). They're probably not permanently disabled and in need of financial assistance. Save the money for the people who really need it.
-DrPsycho - Coping with reality since 1975
I assume the author intended this to be humorous, and to fish out lots of eager moderators who've clearly never trained aikido...
It's true that with good training, aikido (and other martial arts that involve wristlocks) will increase your wrist flexibility and strength. I've been training these things for years, and also play the piano as well as typing lots, and I've never encountered serious wrist problems. After a while, I even developed a reputation for having exceptionally bendy wrists amongst my peers, so I got to be the first guy anyone new tried them on -- if they worked on me, they worked on everyone.
Everything was great, until one day an overenthusiastic training partner slammed a wristlock on a bit too hard. My wrist still worked afterwards, but was obviously badly weakened, probably due to a connective tissue injury. I've been forced to give up training stuff I love for well over a year, while I let the wrist recover. After all, if it goes, I can't drive to work or type when I get there, and that's not a risk I'm prepared to take.
Sorry to go all serious, but while the parent post was amusing, I think it's important to avoid misleading people, just in case anyone goes out and starts doing this stuff after reading it.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
As soon as I started weight training, it all evaporated. I make sure to do some stretching (it's become something I just kinda do while I'm thinking), and I get out to the gym three nights a week. (Soon to be joined by weekly hocky games.)
There are a bunch of us here at work that type for a living. I've noticed that the guys who are in good shape (we've got a few ex-motocross riders) don't suffer from RSI. I have a friend who's a physical trainer, and she's helped a lot of people with wrist/CT problems just by getting them to do a little strength training on their wrists. My pet theory: RSI & CT seem to be caused by overuse of underpowered muscles. Typing isn't stressful enough to make your arms stronger, but it is stressful enough to cause strain and eventual damage to over-worked muscles. Beef up, and you might avoid the problem.
There are several excercises that you can do to strengthen your wrists. My favorite is:
- Tie a weight (5 lbs or so) to the end of a string, and tie the string to the middle of a 2-foot pole. (I use a cut-off hockey stick, and a small milk jug for the weight.)
- Hold the pole in front of you with both hands, palms down, with the string hanging between them.
- Now, reel in the weight. Turn the pole away from you until the weight comes all the way up. Then turn the pole toward you untill the weight goes all the way down and back again. Repeat.
You can do this with your arms resting on your knees, or train your shoulders and posture by doing it standing.I'm fully aware that strength isn't the only factor in RSI and CT. But anything that trains strength and flexibility seems to help. Good luck, all!
(Yes, there's an intentional typo in the name.)
The xwrits tool occasionally pops up reminders to stop typing and do your writs exercises. And if you ignore it, it makes rude gestures at you. Debian users can just apt-get the xwrits package, and there's source and RPMs and stuff on the project page.
It definitely helped me. My wrists rarely hurt anymore (but I should keep doing the exercises anyway).
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
What works depends on the cause. CTS is a syndrome. That means that it's a collection of symptoms. They don't always have the same cause. Sometimes exercises make things worse instead of making things better. If it a chronic inflamation, then frequently exercises will help if you get the inflamation under control first. If it is not only chronic, but also mild, then it may be possible to use ibuprofen to get the inflamation under control. It is usually a bad idea to exercise while the inflamation is present (at least without being under close observation by a specialist in the field).
P.S.: IANA MD. This is only a warning, not a diagnosis or prescription for treatment.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.