'Asbestos of the 1990s': Whatever happened to carpal tunnel syndrome?

Sometime in the 1990s, I needed a wrist brace.

I was the Daily Republic's sports editor, which meant I spent five days a week typing and using a  mouse. My wrist and forearms began to ache.

It was concerning, but no surprise. Probably half the people in the newsroom faced a similar scenario. We were in the middle of the carpal tunnel syndrome epidemic.

It wasn't limited to newspapers. Virtually everyone who worked at a keyboard or who did anything that required repetitive motion with their wrists and hands was at risk. Stores had loads of wrist guards. People had surgery for the malady.

A decade later, in 2008, a newspaper article looking back at the era quoted an ergonomist named Bill Barbre: “Carpal tunnel syndrome was supposed to be the asbestos of the ’90s,” he said. “People were hearing that, potentially, just normal computer work was an insidious health hazard.”

It sure seemed like it. But it was also an opportunity for a showoff sports writer: I would often signal that I was taking a break (or going downstairs to check on how the sports pages were being put together) by standing, ripping off my wrist guard like Barry Bonds and firing it down on my desk.

It amused me. No one else noticed it, but I kept doing it.

Decades later, carpal tunnel syndrome is still a thing. The website of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons describes it thusly: "Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes numbness, tingling, and pain in the hand and forearm. The condition occurs when one of the major nerves to the hand – the median nerve – is squeezed or compressed as it travels through the wrist."

But still . . .  how often do you hear about carpal tunnel syndrome? In 2023, people wear wrist guards, but it's usually for something else. I haven't heard anyone mention "carpal tunnel syndrome" for ages.

What happened?

Well, it's not entirely clear.

I did some research (by typing "whatever happened to carpal tunnel syndrome?" into Google) and found a series of articles over the past 20 years with a headline of "Whatever happened to carpal tunnel syndrome?" Most of them were musings on how the syndrome seemed to go away. By the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, carpal tunnel syndrome was a subject of nostalgia, not a crisis.

My favorite headline, by the way, is from 2008 on MSNBC's website: "Carpal tunnel replaced by BlackBerry thumb as new malady." Yeah, people were getting sore thumbs. From using their BlackBerry devices.

Carpal tunnel syndrome didn't disappear, but it became less prominent. The biggest reason may be the 1990s "epidemic."

In that era, keyboards came in one style. Many office chairs were from before the computer age. Almost no one talked about sitting correctly or how to position your body while doing repetitive motions. I'd never heard the word ergonomic.

In the past several decades, there's been a slow creep of better workplace ergonomics: Better keyboards, better chairs, instruction on how to sit and how often to take breaks.

Carpal tunnel syndrome may be less prominent for office workers in 2023 because it was so common in the 1990s.

Businesses had to make an investment to protect their workers. Maybe they wanted to help. Maybe it was costing too much in workers' comp claims. Maybe it was because businesses didn't want to hear employees complain.

I sometimes miss firing down my wrist guard like Barry Bonds, but I sure don't miss sore wrists.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.