(Part 2) Best products from r/RSI

All I had to do was read the book, but it was super miraculous and not everyone has it that easy. There's some stuff worth checking out on the tms wiki, you can read recovery stories from others (a fair few for rsi/tendonitis/cts) and there's a programme to help you out there too. The forums are a good place to go too, people are asking questions and getting answers. Even though those answers can be painfully vague, they make sense if you read it through a TMS lense. A big one I see people parroting constantly is journaling, which is important too to understand why you're feeling this way.

There's a book I picked up called The Great Pain Deception by Steve Ozanich, and that's a much better read than most of Sarno's work. Ozanich seems to take to writing more naturally and being more entertaining than Sarno did. The cover looks so terribly bad, but the words are good.

If you're a podcast listener, there are a couple of podcasts about it. The Mindbody and Fitness podcast, and Mindbody Mastery. Also a few more, but I haven't checked them all out yet.

Finally, there's a facebook group you can join for support and ideas, called TMS - The Mindbody Syndrome.

If you can (depending on where you live), try and get an MRI done. That'll tell you if you do have any damage or trauma to the tendons for definite.

Although this is a short booklet i found it very useful:
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Do-Hurt-Adriaan-Louw/dp/0985718625

At some point there is nothing wrong with your arms and everything that is wrong is the hypersensitivity/pain threshold of your arms/connections to your brain. this book talks about that and can help you start to overcome that.

I see. The only mouse I was able to find is penclic

https://www.amazon.de/Penclic-Windows-ergonomisch-Kabellos-Rechtsh%C3%A4nder/dp/B005GL0H24/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=penclic+ergonomische+maus&qid=1571729743&sr=8-6

Do you recommend these?

I recommend getting a lacrosse ball since they are quite cheap and versatile: https://www.amazon.com/Kieba-Massage-Lacrosse-Myofascial-Therapy/dp/B017V7UKW2/ref=sr_1_2?s=team-sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1486000450&sr=1-2

In addition, read up on trigger points and how to massage them. I suggest reading https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECLGALG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Yeah, I've had that, still do sometimes. I've found nothing with training helps that specifically, deadlifts makes my hands feel really good (and maybe that includes my forearms, so try that). I'd massage, stretch and rest if I was you. If you can't take a break from work for 2 weeks of no computer usage, then you'll need to make changes in your workspace so you do mouseclicks in other ways.

https://www.amazon.com/USB-Foot-Switch-Keyboard-Pedal/dp/B008MU0TBU

The theraband is here for anyone curious.

https://www.amazon.com/TheraBand-Tendonitis-Strength-Resistance-Tendinitis/dp/B00067E4YU/ref=sr_1_10?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1521694888&sr=1-10&keywords=lateral%2Bepicondylitis&th=1

The only mouse that substantially helped me:
3M Optical USB Ergonomic Mouse, Wired, 3 Buttons

http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Optical-Ergonomic-Mouse-Buttons/dp/B00008KWWF/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1410188146&sr=8-8&keywords=rsi+mouse

By mueller sleeve do you mean this one?: http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Sleeve-Neoprene-provides-wraparound/dp/B001IEXQZ8

Or this one?: http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Wrist-Brace-splint-Black/dp/B000RZHPOM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397535382&sr=8-1&keywords=muller+wrist+brace

This one http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Fitted-Wrist-Brace-Medium/dp/B0027VGB4Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F5BJ2ESYP1QH03HVA60

I've been in a similar situation for the last 6 years. First it was fingers, then my outer forearms. I work in IT, love gaming, very depressing, tried all the things. Last year, I bought this book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Treatment-Guide-Relief/dp/B00ECLGALG
It's taken a year of poking around (juggling real life commitments alongside), but recently I finally managed to mostly eliminate the arm pain through the massage prescribed in the book. The problem wasn't my tendons, rather the muscles that controlled those tendons. I worked out the kinks, and I've started to enjoy some late night gaming sessions again.

These links are all examples from a quick google search. I'm not endorsing anything in particular. There is a nice terse discussion of braces at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279596/

There are rigid ( http://verinaegypt.com/shop/rigid-wrist-brace/ ) and soft/nonrigid ( https://www.amazon.com/Comfortable-Adjustable-Arthritis-Tendinitis-Compression/dp/B07PKBCD72) wrist braces. The primary difference is that rigid braces have plastic or metal stays in them to actively prevent the wrist from getting into a bad posture.

Rigid braces are generally bad to use while working as they prevent you from making normal motions that your job probably requires. So, you end up fighting with the brace (increased force) and get into an even worse posture trying to get the job done. Prolonged use of rigid splints also prevents you from going through the normal range of motion that your wrist needs to stay healthy! Only wear a right brace at work if your Dr has recommended it. Often rigid braces are recommended for night use to keep you from bending your wrists for prolonged periods while sleeping.

Nonrigid braces (or "wrist supports"), at least, don't fight you as much when you're moving your hand. Instead, they "encourage" a more straight posture. These are worn more during work.

Unfortunately, the cause of musculoskeletal disorders is generally overuse so getting better means reducing the exposure. "Overuse" here means spending a lot of time doing repetitive work in a bad posture and/or with high force.Depending on your job, doing some work to get a good ergo setup (tips: https://www.rsiprevention.com/rsi_prevention.php) can really reduce the posture/force exposures.

Unfortunately, once the wrist is symptomatic, it may take a while to "calm down." During that time, symptoms can occur with much less exposure. Even the squeezing of the brace on your wrist can exacerbate things. Computer users with symptoms on only one side

I have been dealing with pain in my arms pretty much since I started my first job as a programmer (wrist, elbow, forearm pain) which is 10 years so far. I bought all the exercise tools you can possibly think of and used them on a daily basis to strengthen my arms as many opinions were saying that if it's RSI you need to strengthen supporting muscles. I have Theraband flexbar, Powerball, Armaid, Infra lamp, Resistance bands, dumbbells, Gripmaster Pro, GD Iron Grip Ext 90 (up to 90 kg hand resistance - beautiful grip tool) and of course foam rollers, trigger point balls, electric massagers etc. I tried changing diet, using PC less but nothing made a noticeable difference in the long run. I have also visited physios and chiros where the prescription was a bunch of exercises that I need to do daily but one of them even told me there is no such thing as RSI from the medical standpoint. After doing prescribed exercises it felt better for a time but it went back to the original state - I ascribe that to placebo effect. Oh and I don't want to forget about replacing mouses and keyboard for ergonomic ones and being obsessed with a correct posture.

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Now my journey with TMS. I've been following RSI subreddit for several months now and a few months back one of the members shared his story about RSI and how he got cured by learning about TMS. He was a software engineer as well so I could relate to him. I immediately deep dived in youtube videos about TMS, Dr John Sarno explaining how that works, TMS healing wall where people had a same story and many times same personality which is a very important aspect. I was certain that I have it as well as it fit me like a glove. The pain disappeared by the end of the day. Now, since I know that placebo can trick my brain and reduce pain I didn't want to celebrate just yet. However it's been 3 months now and pain is reduced by 90% on my worst day. It's important to understand that it's not a one time cure that will remove pain for the rest of your life without doing any effort. The effort needs to be focused on your mind and things that you might be bottling up, anxious about, repressed rage etc. In my case, I always like to be the best, everything needs to be perfect, I worry about what people think, I don't like being late or sick and I'm very competitive. That creates a lot of psychological pressure inside me that manifests in pain in various parts of my body (typically where my brain thinks it can hurt because of old injuries or because it knows about diagnosis like RSI).

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The most important bit is to genuinely believe that you have it and stop all the old exercises and treatments that you were doing to fix physiological issue and focus on the mind instead everytime there is pain and try to figure what might be worrying you. There are better resource out there so I'm just gonna toss a few so you know where to start.

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https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection-ebook/dp/B00FOTRI4S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KKOZCQPUI4PJ&keywords=healing+back+pain+by+dr.+john+sarno&qid=1558135796&s=gateway&sprefix=healing+back+pain%2Caps%2C333&sr=8-1#customerReviews

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https://www.amazon.com/Great-Pain-Deception-Faulty-Medical-ebook/dp/B0075EVN46/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+great+pain+deception&qid=1558135852&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VyH1laOd2M

If it's an imbalance, something like this ball might help.

Can you say anything more about which parts of the physical therapy process make you feel worse?

Describe more about your pain. Is it *in* the joint? Surface? Is it painful if you press at the tendon attachment site?

To throw out a few more ideas: Pain to the volar forearm and golfers elbow pain can both be referred from other areas. A common one is the pecs, another is the triceps. Pecs seem like a possible culprit due to the nature of rock climbing. For triceps, there's an easy spot to inspect. Start at the median epicondyle, then travel 2-3 inches up the inside of your arm. Use a wide pressure like your thumb or a tennis ball to press in. If it's unusually sore, learn how to work that trigger point.

No worries! I've been dealing with this for 2 years now, I have not been evaluated recently so I'm not sure where I stand with healing, but my pain is minimal (2/10 most days, 5/10 after a day that I do not stretch). The thing to keep in mind with all of this is that RSI is unique to each person, depending on their situation and their body. Two people can be under the exact same strain and one be perfectly fine while the other develops RSI. So the main thing you need to do is evaluate everything you do with your hands, find the things that cause strain then find a way to minimize that activity or change it so that you are no longer under strain. This could be anything from ergonomic hardware, to reducing the number of times you hit ctrl+s, to less time on your phone or less time holding a book; everyone is different. It is unique to you and you will need to invest time in reducing strain.

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For stretching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdD7CgN5FGg I do 60 seconds per stretch. I've adapted them over time to target the muscles that hurt the most for me. Take time and find stretches that target the muscles that ache. Be gentle but persistent. Keep in mind that often an ache in your wrist can be from a tight muscle further up in your forearm.

For massage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwySYtmtQxg Again I have adapted this. The guy in this video is somewhat aggressive, and I don't use lube either. The method of using one forearm to massage the other (top to bottom, all sides) works great for me. Find the muscles that ache and spend extra time massaging them, gently but firmly. Don't be rough, but don't shy away from the sore areas.

It is very important to take breaks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiRC80FJbHU Constant strain is never good. If you're typing for long periods, take a break.

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My keyboard https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Ergonomic-Keyboard-Business-5KV-00001/dp/B00CYX26BC

My mouse https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Advanced-Wireless-Trackball-Windows/dp/B0753P1GTS

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Edit: keep in mind, this is not a one-day solution, this will take days to weeks and will be an ongoing battle. Be diligent!