Carpal Tunnel Culprit: Sex

All that weight on wrists may result in syndrome: researcher
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2010 10:11 PM CST
Carpal Tunnel Culprit: Sex
Putting weight on your wrists during sex could result in carpal tunnel syndrome, one researcher believes.   (YouTube)

Bothered by carpal tunnel syndrome but don’t spend those hours in front of the computer normally associated with the painful condition in the lower arms? Could be sex, one researcher says. “It is proposed,” reads an abstract published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “that carpal tunnel syndrome can develop during sexual intercourse when the hands become repeatedly extended while under pressure from the weight of the upper body.”

Further, “the bilaterality of carpal tunnel syndrome can be explained by the fact that both hands are needed to support the upper body during sexual intercourse,” J Zenian notes. Supporting the theory are data that carpal tunnel syndrome decreases later in life—as does the frequency of sex.
(More carpal tunnel syndrome stories.)

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