First-person shooters, for instance. Love ‘em. I still blame Doom, one of the first big shooters, for my initial hand troubles. I’d play for hours on end, using keyboard controls exclusively, with my wrist resting on the edge of the table. Really bad ergonomics, I realize now. But wow, that was fun.

Now I play, when I play at all, mostly casual games. I try to lean towards games that are more strategic and less click-tastic, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

My latest indulgence is a game called Plants vs. Zombies. It’s strategic, yeah, but it requires an insane amount of point-and-click action as well. Needless to say, it’s incredibly addictive.

I try to pace myself, limit my time with the game, but it keeps dragging me back.

Good games will do that.

Meanwhile, my hands are starting to suffer. It’s not at a critical stage yet, but I can see the danger signs and hear the warning bells going off.

So this is not really a recommendation (unless you don’t have hand problems, then it’s a BIG recommendation), but more of a warning.

Do as I say, not as I do, that sort of thing…

If you have RSI, stay way from Plants vs. Zombies.

Over two years ago I experienced tingling and numbness in my right hand. At times the pain was so restrictive I could not move my hand and at other times there was a prickly sensation as if my hand had “fallen asleep” and I could not regain the proper feeling or use. The surgeon who examined me was talking about surgery so I was going to do my homework first. The thought of surgery spurred me on to find out more and though I was diagnosed with an inflamed ulnar nerve, the research I did kept leading me to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Judy goes on to discuss her search for alternatives to surgery, and what she’s done to help alleviate her pain — including wearing a wrist brace and using a stress ball, as well as utilizing herbal supplements such as Turmeric, Biotin, and Bromelain, among others.

Lots of good information here: Herbal and Nutritional Treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

I have still not recovered from RSI, I get numerous flare-ups at completely random intervals. I sometimes think what else have I got to do. I steadily modify my own treatments, increasing and decreasing supplements, exercises of differing types and sleep patterns. Still, when it comes down to it I can’t say that I am cured, that I am like a person without repetitive strain.

In a way I feel like I’m twice the age I am. My body could be that of a 70 year old and my fuzziness and days of cloudy thinking could be easily confused as something that is suffering from early stages of dementia. Still, the GP and NHS can offer nothing for treatment or diagnostic assistance. I am left to do it myself, to try things and be a guinea pig. I’m left without any help what so ever and if I wasn’t for those that I live with, I would be totally screwed on those days I can’t even pick up a kettle on water.

At the moment I am going through a period of discomfort and my head is all over the place. What do I try next, what is left? I don’t know any more.

Wow, sounds like they’re going through a really rough period. Everyone who lives with a chronic condition has those days when everything seems to fall apart, when the struggle seems too much to bear, when the pain and the stress of coping is just soul-crushingly oppressive.

So don’t feel too alone, efhell. We’ve all been there, and periodically revisit this scary and depressing place.

One thing I wondered, as I was reading efhell’s brutally honest and heartbreaking tale, was whether he (or she) was getting enough exercise. The post (of which only an excerpt is shown above) mentions working out with weights, and elsewhere long walks are a frequent topic, but I wonder at their cardiovascular fitness.

Personally, I have found that maintaining a higher level of fitness is important in keeping my RSI at bay. A few years ago I began riding a bicycle, and as I worked my way back into shape over the course of several years, I not only dropped about 25 pounds of weight (which is in itself good for combating RSI), but discovered that simply being fit seemed to help ward off the worst, and it certainly helped keep my mood and energy level up. I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in since my early twenties.

I’m not saying that I’m cured of RSI. If I’m stupid or stubborn, or work too long or too hard or with improper technique, my hands will definitely let me know about it.

Interestingly, in researching the topic, I came up with this:

Some experts have reported that people who are physically fit, including athletes, joggers, and swimmers, have a lower risk for cumulative trauma disorders. Although there is no evidence that exercise can directly improve CTS (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome), a regular exercise regimen using a combination of aerobic and resistance training techniques strengthens the muscles in the shoulders, arms, and back, helps reduce weight, and improves overall health and well-being. In one 2001 study, CTS patients experienced symptom relief and signs of improved nerve conduction after 10 months of participation in an aerobic exercise program. (Such improvements appeared to be due to both weight loss and higher oxygen levels.)

So efhell, if you haven’t tried improving your fitness, give it a go. Start slowly, and build up gradually.

Aerobic fitness may seem to be unrelated to RSI, but I can testify that, at least in my case, it’s seemed to make a big difference.

• “I think I’m getting carpal tunnel from writing so much” – CingleShaker
• “making coffee is hard when you can’t feel your hands. damn carpal tunnel. my hands are cashed this morning.” – bbyrd
• “I hope I don’t end up having wear some sort of stupid brace for carpal tunnel, my hand is killing me.” – nahun
• “trying to edit through the carpal tunnel pain.” – karenlisa
• “making the conscious effort to do everything with my left hand now because i’m starting to wonder if i have RSI or something worse” – skinnylatte
• “Attempting to mouse left-handed. Getting RSI-like pains in my forearm.” – drewm
• “in what seems to me an injustice, after reading last night instead of computing, my mouse claw (right hand RSI) is worse than in months” – scilib
• “Just been to docs. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome it is then. Does that mean I should stop using computers? ” – niallcook
• “Seriously feeling exhausted. My carpal tunnel is so bad today. I feel the ache all the way up my arm and my hands are tingling. Not good.” – DeaEterna
• “After successfully dodging carpal tunnel.syndrome for years, it burns my buns to have been hit by plantar fasciitis. And I did it to myself.” – gregortroll
• “I changed my knitting style to limit the dequervain’s syndrome in my right hand, but the new style is causing carpal tunnel in my left. ” – jesh

Of course, most people refer to any sort of arm/hand/wrist pain as “carpal tunnel”, but still, there are a lot of people hurting out there…

If you haven’t done so yet, please follow RSI-Relief on Twitter for the latest RSI news and links.

The problem of guitarists and other musicians suffering from RSI is not a new one, with several popular guitarists falling foul of the syndrome; most notably Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, who has worn a wrist and forearm support on his right arm for years due to his aggressive playing style. Medical experts have now determined that novice guitarists are under considerable risk of developing Carpal Tunnel syndrome early on in life by picking up bad guitar playing habits.

Beginning guitarists tend to put tremendous strain on their fretting hand, pressing the strings down as hard as possible in order to make sure the notes their playing sound cleanly. However, such pressure isn’t necessary and leads to strain being put on the wrist and forearm, with complaints of numbness and hot pain in these areas commonplace amongst many learning musicians. This issue can be tackled by putting a lighter gauge of string on the guitar to ease playing.

Another overlooked problem that can develop early on in a musician’s life is stress on the back and the neck. Playing a guitar that’s perhaps too cumbersome for the individual or wearing the strap too low can greatly affect posture and, as a result, damage muscles and tendons.

The above problems are mostly caused by guitarists neglecting to warm up before practice or performance. Indeed, it was through performing with no warm up that led to Status Quo’s guitarist Rick Parfitt and the session musician Gary Smith having to take time off from music to recover; Smith’s repetitive strain injury was so bad that he required surgery on his wrist. A series of simple stretching exercises are all that’s required to limber up muscles and reduce the risk of injury, as well as playing scales and other exercises on the guitar immediately before performing. It’s a fairly effortless procedure but one that is still not undertaken but many guitarists outside of the professional circuit.

When any guitarist warms up, it’s not only immediately beneficial in technique and fluidity during both performance and practice, it also helps to ensure that any budding guitarists enjoy long and healthy playing careers, free of any repetitive strain injury.

Author Resource: Matthew Pressman is a freelance writer and frequent flyer. When not travelling, he enjoys golf and fishing.

No, it wasn’t magic. It was a visit to a doctor for other unrelated (or so I thought at the time) problems. She had me tested for food allergies, and I came up positive for sensitivities to gluten and dairy (and a few lesser ones). It was hard to give up these foods, which show up in nearly everything, but one of the benefits was that my hand problems gradually diminished. Eliminating the allergy foods also helped me get rid of my other issues (I was having heartburn at night, insomnia, headaches during the day, and needed an inhaler for asthma).

So, for those of you suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or other joint issues/RSIs, it’s probably worth a trip to the doctor to get tested for food allergies. It doesn’t take much time or cost much (I think I paid about $125 for a blood test that checked for allergies to close to 100 common foods), and it may make a world of difference.

Read more: Yes, Food Allergies Were Causing My RSI Issues and Update on My RSI Issues (AKA things are looking up).

Twenty five years bashing a computer keyboard has finally caught up with me I’m afraid. Movable aches and pains running up and down arms, in and out of my wrists, through my fingers, shooting pains in my shoulder and arm muscles…the works!

If, for want of a better label, you think of yourself as having RSI or CTS, you might find my story interesting for comparative purposes. If you don’t have symptoms, please don’t conclude this piece will be of no relevance to you. RSI/CTS can be cumulative. You do not have to overtly injure yourself to bring it on. It has most likely incubated in me for decades, silently getting stronger and stronger and then popping out dramatically. I did not have RSI/CTS for twenty five years. And now, all of a sudden, boom, I do! Next week, it could be you.

Being a computer engineer, Sean takes an analytical approach to figuring out what’s going on, but troubleshooting this particular problem proves unexpectedly difficult. Sean researches the problem, tries rest, tries massage therapy, tries stretches and breaks, but still the pain persists.

This is driving me nuts! The first thing they teach you in debugging school is to establish cause and effect. How can I do that when the effects are variable and possibly days removed from some unknown cause?

Currently, Sean is working off the hypothesis that his problem is related to years of poor posture, and is performing exercises in hopes of improving the situation.

His conclusion: “I live (and thankfully, continue to work) in the hope that I can get to the bottom of this and get it under control.” Good luck, Sean!

After a nearly useless conversation, he briskly asked me if I had any other questions, and then shooed me out the door. I learned more in a half hour of web-browsing the night before the appointment than I learned from him, and I’m now left to search the web for more information.

It’s an interesting story, and it sounds like he doesn’t really trust the doctor’s diagnosis (and he probably shouldn’t, given that surgery is the most common “treatment” for CTS).

Is this type of perfunctory examination common, or was Radagast just unlucky in his choice of physician? What has been your experience in dealing with doctors about your Repetitive Strain Injuries?

If you’re someone who suffers from this condition (basically, an inflammation of the sheath or tunnel that surrounds two tendons that control movement of the thumb, resulting in pain, swelling, numbness, and difficulty gripping), check out the discussion that sprang up in the blog’s comments – people sharing their own experiences with similar problems. Lots of good info there.

See also: DeQuervain’s Syndrome

On the plus side, I’m getting a lot of work done.

On the minus side, being shut in also plays havic with my diet and mood. I’ve noticed more of a hunger for snacks, and the abundance of left-over holiday treats hasn’t helped in that department. With the decrease in exercise, and the increase in calories, I’ve gained a bit of weight. And I’ve found myself a bit depressed (or at least lethargic) at times.

In more temperate seasons, I spend more time outside – cycling, working in the yard, or just out and about. During the winter, I still go out riding whenever I can, but frankly it’s just not as much fun cycling at 40 or 50 degrees as it is at 60 and above. Same thing with walking or running. I’m thinking about joining a gym, but I haven’t done so yet. I could set the bike up on a trainer and ride it indoors, and I did that last year, but it’s incredibly boring. I may yet do that, but it’s an action of last resort.

The answers are fairly obvious, I suppose:

• Get out more often. If it’s too cold to ride the bike or go for a run, go over to the mall and walk around. It’s amazing what a little exercise can to to boost the spirits.
• Be rigorous with my hand exercises. It’s so easy to not do them. “It can wait until my hands start hurting,” I think. But of course by then it’s too late for the exercises to do much good.
• Don’t turn the break reminder off. I have a bad habit of doing so, if I’m in the middle of some intense work (or play), and don’t want to be interrupted. Then I forget to turn it back on. Hours later, I wonder why I haven’t been prompted to take a break.
• Work away from the computer. Read a book. Sketch out some ideas. Plan ahead. Think.

As obvious as the answers may be, they don’t happen automatically. It takes more than wishful thinking or good intentions to make them happen. Ah yes, self-discipline. I’ll try that and see how it goes.