As a nail professional carpel tunnel is a potential side effect of your career choice. Ideally you should be doing everything you can to prevent it from the moment you attend nail school. From doing the stretches to chiropractor appointments, the more diligent you are about prevention, the longer you can go before developing carpel tunnel possibly avoiding it altogether.
When you start noticing pain or consistent numbness it's time to get things looked at. For me after years of the stretching and chiropractor visits keeping things steady, the time finally came that shooting pains were part of doing nails and my hands and forearms were tingly every morning.
The first visit to the specialist indicated that I could potentially have several things going on with the right side and carpel tunnel on the left side.
At the consultation x-rays were taken that showed arthritis which was the cause of some pain while working. Joint pain is not something that is part of carpel tunnel. It is important to distinguish between the two so you can manage your expectations for pain relief from surgery if that becomes necessary.
I was given wrist braces to sleep in so that my wrists could be kept straight at night and allowed to relax. Then an appointment was set up to come back for an electromyography (EMG) to determine if there was any carpel tunnel. This is when electricity is used to test muscle activity.
Carpel Tunnel is caused by repetitive motions, this means anything from filing, typing, washing dishes, and other repetitive activities are going to contribute.
I'll bring you along on the rest of the journey so if you find yourself needing to be here, you have a general idea what to expect. If you have already been here, please feel free to leave your advice, experiences, or comments below!