My Miracle Treatment: Vitamin B for Writer's Cramp or CTS

It was good tip from another writer: Try a heavy dose of Vitamin B complex tablets for aching wrists, elbows and other ailments caused by extreme typing (aka carpal tunnel syndrome).

I was skeptical about her claim. But I had already unsuccessfully tried several remedies: $50 worth of wrist splints, a $12 elbow guard, $6 Velcro ice packs, $65 per hour massages and other tricks of the writing trade.


I was on the verge of acupuncture and was even considering a voice-activated software writing program. But then a fellow writer offered the Vitamin B solution, a tip that is popular in some newsrooms for dealing with the aches related to constant typing or carpal tunnel syndrome. [CTS]

My experience: It works. When I take vitamin B (about two tablets in the morning), my wrists, elbows and shoulders feel normal. (Yoga and rest also help). Likewise, a lawyer friend, who also sees heavy keyboard action, recently complained about her aching wrists. I recommended Vitamin B. Last weekend, I saw her and she told me that her hands have felt better since she started taking B-complex vitamins.


We're not alone: Using Vitamin B to treat CTS is becoming increasingly popular in some medical corners. Here's one quote:

"Even though over 100,000 carpal tunnel surgeries are performed each year, doctors who prefer a less drastic solution are slowly beginning to add vitamin B6 to their treatment regimens. "For those people who don't seem to have serious problems, I normally recommend they wear splints at night, take an anti-inflammatory and use B6 for at least two weeks," says Gary Tunell, M.D., chief of neurology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Tunell estimates that 40 to 50 percent of people with CTS could experience some improvement using this therapy. "

--source

Here's are a few articles about Vitamin B, including the following piece from the National Institutes of Health, (NIH), a government agency: (Non-surgical treatments from NIH).


Here's an article from the University of Maryland Medical Center and a third source: All about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and alternative treatments.


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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in May of 2008 by DPL Press.
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How to Demand Less, Live Better: A Financial Salute to My Natural Hair
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Say Sorry and Save Money: How I'm Shedding Emotional Debt in 2008
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