Anti-vibration

[aansorge]

I am 42, cut with a Stihl 250, and have been experiencing tingling in my hands and forearms for awhile now (3+ years) I am not sure cutting wood is the root cause, but it surely is not helping. The tingling isn't bad or particularily annoying, I just don't want it to become debilitating.

Are certain saws better than others for lower vibration levels (a cause for carpal tunnel syndrome and a couple of other syndromes causing tingling)? All Stihls have anti-vibration, but are there certain models that are better than others? Do the pro-saws vibrate less?

I do, by the way, wear arm braces at night to prevent hand curling and have seen a doctor.

I cut once every two weeks or so.

 

[aansorge]

Starting searching on the site....do anti-vibration gloves really help?

 

[Beer Belly]

Sounds like the Ulnar Nerve (Funny Bone Nerve) is getting trapped in the Elbow joint.....are you also feeling numbness in your Pinky and the finger next to it ???....if so, may get away with a Cortisone shot.....I needed surgery.....hope I'm wrong

 

[peakbagger]

Just in case, you wouldnt happen to be taking statins for colesterol would you?. Statins like Zocor, Lipotor and Crestor among others all can cause odd joint and muscle problems for a small protion of the population.

 

[HittinSteel]

You may want to try a Husqvarna. Their spring anti-vibe is superior to stihl's system (stihl was even nice enough to "borrow" the technology for the super smooth 441)

 

[aansorge]

No statin drugs. It is tough for me to say exactly what is all tingling; wrists, hands and fingers all seem to tingle. And all fingers not just the index/middle/1/2 of ring.

Hoping its not MS!

 

[basod]

It's not just half of your hand?
I had this many years ago diagnosed in laymans terms of truck driver hand. Did alot of commuting for while working through college.
Is that your roadracer in your avatar? Hand positioning on a steering wheel can cause this

 

[aansorge]

I autocross. That is what the car is for...no roadracing.

I do commute 75 miles a day (total). I do type some for my job (teacher). I don't do anything in excessive quantities though so I wonder what the root cause is. I am thinking of sleeping with elbow braces and see what that does. I have been using wrist braces for 4 months and while this seems to have helped, I still have tingling.

 

[basod]

Yeah I meant some form of sanctioned competition(not the illegal stuff)
The repetive positioning of driving that far daily could be to blame coupled with competing
Try a new hand position it worked for me, or atleast make your doctor aware, if you haven't already, of your recreational and daily habits

 

[TreePointer]

Yes, some models (usually pro) have better antivibration technology than others. Springs are better than rubber discs. Antivibration gloves (like those from Stihl) really help me. I use them with a lot of power tools.

Read up on Raynaud's Syndrome (aka "white finger disease"). Take this seriously.

 

[blujacket]

Sounds like you have carpal tunnel