The Dangers of Painkillers for Carpal Tunnel and RSI

If you have to take a pill to counteract another pill, why not just cut them out altogether? Are wondering how to treat carpal tunnel symptoms? If so, take my advice and don't use painkillers. When I first went to a doctor complaining of wrist pain, she immediately offered me Vicodin. I declined, opting instead to take her suggested daily dose of Ibuprofin. What she didn't tell me was that continuing to take this drug for over a month could give...

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Swedish massage instructions for hand and wrist pain

The blog of herbs and health has a great post on how to give someone (or yourself!) a forearm massage. Releasing muscle tension is key to curing almost any kind of chronic wrist pain, so I recommend you learn how it's done. If you can't afford a private massage, search for massage schools in your local area. They usually offer discounted student massages which can be just as good as the professional variety. For further self-massage instruction,...

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Heal Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with Ergonomics

Do you type on a laptop? Well, don't. Laptop keyboards are typically small and flat, which forces you to arch your hands and put undue strain on your wrists. Looking down at the screen also puts a strain on your neck, which can lead to compression of the carpal tunnel.If you have wrist pain or want to avoid getting it, make sure your work station corresponds to basic ergonomic guidelines. That means that your forearms are parallel to the floor when...

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Wrist pain and TMS

If you'd like to hear more about the treatments described in the previous post, there are a number of good sites out there devoted to John Sarno's theories about Tension Myositis Syndrome. Here are just a few of my favorites:tms wikitmsrecovery.com tarpityogaRachel's RSI homage Dr. Sarno's websiteIn the meantime, keep in mind that a large part of the treatment he recommends lies in truly believing that you are fundamentally o.k. - and that there is nothing "structurally" or physically wrong with you. If you feel pain, try not to focus on it. Think...

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Dr. John Sarno's Mindbody Medicine

Whether you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, tendonitis or repetitive strain injury, there are a million people out there who will give you advice about how to deal with your pain. But before you continue to treat your wrist pain, I highly recommend you check out Dr. John Sarno's book The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders. Dr. Sarno argues that many of the conditions often associated with fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome or back...

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Neck Pain

One of my biggest problems with the standard medical treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is that, like most western remedies, they treat the symptoms rather than the cause. Let's say you're having pain in your wrists. You go to the doctor and they suggest that your problem is compression of the Median Nerve, the primary "cause" of CTS. But your median nerve doesn't just appear in your wrist and disappear when it hits your elbow. No, it travels...

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Alleviate wrist pain with Voice Recognition Software

There are a lot of voice recognition programs out there, but Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is by far the best. The Mac version is MacSpeech Dictate, and is basically the same program. It's good too, in fact I'm using it right now! Don't bother with any older or cheeper programs - they don't work. If you want to type without using your hands, get one of these two programs and a decent microphone, and you'll be good to go.Read reviews of these programs...

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Self-Test for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Before you begin to treat the pain in your wrists, you should know the answer to the following question: Do you have carpal tunnel syndrome, or a different repetitive strain injury? The following is an excerpt from "3 Minutes to a Pain-Free Life," By Dr Joseph Weisberg & Heidi Shink, which you can read online here. This is the test the doctor gave me, and it seems to be pretty well accepted. REMEMBER: IF YOU DON'T HAVE CARPAL TUNNEL...

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Wrist Exercises for Carpal Tunnel and Tendonitis

This video, of lifehacker fame, demonstrates some excellent and highly effective wrist exercises for carpal tunnel and tendonitis. I do them every day now, and I've definitely had some relief. Check it out!Note: do these several times a day, especially before you ty...

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My Life with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and RSI: A Brief History

The Symptoms Several years ago I was working full time as a freelance writer and administrative assistant at a small nonprofit organization. I was on the computer from 9-5 every day, and often got back on it in the evenings. I wasn't typing all the time. Sometimes I was just surfing the internet, using a mouse, or editing things I'd already written. But over time these activities started to take their toll. It started in my right hand. I'd...

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