Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

June 18, 2017

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Workers’ Compensation in Boston

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common on-the-job injury in Boston and the surrounding area. Anyone who is diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome due to their job should file workers’ compensation benefits, but the problem is many workers do not. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the main reason is that many people see carpal tunnel syndrome as something you just live with, but this is not the way it should be.

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development for Massachusetts and the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) oversees workers’ compensation in Boston. If there is a dispute, it will be settled using the provisions of the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA). Pursuant the WCA (Part I, Title XXI, Chapter 154 Massachusetts General Laws) an injury is defined as including both a physical injury and a disease or illness that is a result of the worker’s employment. This can include carpal tunnel syndrome. Continue reading

February 28, 2017

Carpal Tunnel and Boston Workers’ Compensation

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we think about a person who is injured on the job and receiving workers’ compensation benefits, we are often thinking of any employee who suffered some type of traumatic injury while at work. This could be when a person falls at work, or a heavy object hits them on the head, or it can even be from exposure to caustic chemicals, since a person can get workers’ compensation benefits from a work-related illness.

However, one of the more common workplace injuries is often overlooked, and people do not make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits when they probably should. This is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), which is a common type of repetitive stress injury (RSI) caused by performing the same or similar tasks on a regular basis throughout the day for many workdays. Continue reading

June 9, 2016

Drug Dealers Complain of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from The LAist, police have intercepted drug dealers complaining of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) as a result of counting so many $1 bills. While at first this may seem like a joke, when police busted this particular group of alleged drug dealers, they were found with over $600,000, all in singles.

While the police said they are familiar with finding small bills in the homes or offices of city drug dealers, they had never seen so many $1 bills. They said there enough singles that even when they were banded in neat stacks, could fill the entire bed of a standard pickup truck. When the police went to count the evidence, it took them three days, so they could actually understand why it could cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Continue reading

September 3, 2015

Yoga as a Treatment for Workers with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While most on-the-job accidents associated with workers’ compensation involve a single traumatic event, other types of on-the-job injuries are a result of years of repetitive stress. Some of these are more obviously work-related, such as degenerative spine disease, but can also manifest in other ways, such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disease caused by a pinching or narrowing of the bundle of nerves with the same name as the disease. The carpal tunnel runs through the palm side of the wrist and controls movement of the fingers. When the tunnel becomes compressed, it can result in pain and numbness, weakness in the hand, and several other symptoms. Continue reading