Day 1 RSI And Other Goodies

Hi!

My name is Danny, and I'm 24.
My first brush with RSI was at age 16. I've been a heavy guitar player at the time, it was my passion and I spent hours practicing, until one day I felt pain in my left wrist and fingers, pain combined with stiffness and some tingling that would eventually go away if I took a break from any activity, yet came back swiftly as soon as I went back to using my hand. A few doctors later I've had a general tendinitis diagnosis and hot/cold therapy combined with NSAIDS. The treatment gave me only temporary relief. I pretty much gave up guitar at this point.
Fast forward five years, I'm 21 and working in software dev. My left hand worsening slowly but surely over the time period, when my right hand suddenly joined in. Symptoms pointed to carpal tunnel syndrome, doctors agreed, however I passed EMG tests. The doctors and I were clueless. I found myself effectively handicapped as far as computers went. I've had to give up video games at home to keep my job. I'm forced to pace myself to conserve "stamina" and look for other ways to press the mouse - switch hands, use elbows, other kinds of workarounds. The index finger on my right had fell completely out of use for the mouse, I couldn't bear to use it. In other words, hell.
2013 brought me vocal dysfunction and discomfort with using smartphones. I've started looking into nutrition. Hell, maybe I'm eating wrong? I've branched out into sports, thought that maybe, just maybe, getting fit will help. I was swiftly rewarded with Achilles tendinitis and arm stiffness. Driving became a hated and feared activity, pressing the pedals and steering started to cause noticeable discomfort.
I couldn't undestand why this had happened to me. I'm young, yet feel old and broken.
A week and a half ago I stumbled upon Sarno and read Healing Back Pain. It sounded too good to be true. I felt so stupid for all the years wasted. I've felt immediate relief for a few days. Needless to say, I was overjoyed. Hit the gym, hit the guitar, drove freely. Yesterday, the symptoms came back with a vengeance, I panicked. That's why I'm here posting and starting the program. I hope this can help me.

Here's a question to you folks: if Sarno is right, TMS is responsible for RSI symptoms, does that mean RSI doesn't exist? Tendinitis, tendinosis? If. I go run two hours everyday, won't I hurt my Achilles?

 

Hi, Danny. You've come to the right place for healing your pains.
Don't feel bad that you "wasted" some years before discovering Dr. Sarno and his TMS book.

You're going to benefit from TMS knowled for the rest of your life, which can be long and healthy.

I'm 84 and had severe back pain two years ago but healed in a short time after reading Healing Back Pain.
A nurse friend recommended it and said a psychiatrist friend who had bad back pain healed from it through TMS knowledge.

Dr. Sarno says pain may move around and be stronger or weaker depending on what our subconscious mind sends us.
It isn't our enemy, but our friend, giving us pain so we work on our TMS repressed emotions and/or perfectionist and "goodist"
personalities. There are lots of posts about those causes in the subforums here.

Tendinitis, etc., are what doctors call our pains, but they seldom get into the psychological causes, which are TMS.

The Structured Educational Program will take you through daily steps to heal your pain.

Dr. Sarno and other TMS practitioners, say physical activity won't hurt you and, in fact, help in your healing.
Don't overdo it, of course, but do what you can, even if it hurts. It won't make a pain worse. Maybe even
try going back to playing the guitar. A little at a time until you play like you did years ago.

I wouldn't spend any time wondering if a physical pain is structural, whether RSI or tendinitis exist.
Believe 100 percent that your repressed emotions or personality cause the symptoms. The emotions may very well
go back to your boyhood, like mine did, and as many others have found.

Stick with SEP and let us know how you progress.

Welcome to the TMS Club, where many thousands have become pain-free.

 

Hi Danny. Welcome to the forum! I'm an RSI success story. You can read about it from my profile if you like. Like Walt has encouraged you to do, go through the SEP. If your pain diminished for a few days and then started back up, then that is a sure sign that it is TMS. This is pretty typical.

To answer your questions from my own experience, yes, my RSI was pure TMS. And I had it VERY bad. I can't say that all RSI is TMS because I can imagine extreme cases, but from what I've read the vast majority is probably TMS. And even if a real injury occurs, the body heals so it should go away in days or weeks. Anything that lasts weeks and months is likely to be TMS. Same goes for tendinitis/tendinosis. Regarding running... I run a lot so I know this pretty well, you can run two hours a day an not get achilles injuries, but of course you have to be smart about it. I wouldn't start at 2 hours. I'd start at 10 minutes if you are a couch potato and work up a 10 to 15% increments per week or something safe like that. Just because TMS is a cause of pain doesn't mean we are super men . I've learned this the hard way let me tell you!!

But to give you more hope.. I didn't learn about TMS until I was 38. I suffered with all kinds of pain, not RSI specifically, all my life. Limiting me in so many ways. The fact that you are discovering this in your early 20's is a BLESSING!! I didn't start running/biking/swimming until I was 38!! Also, I took up the guitar again a few years ago... I had given it up. AND I also play video games with my boys (I have 3 and they LOVE games). SO you have made a great step to begin to understand why you are in pain. It has little to do with the activities directly, but more to do with what's going on in your life and how you are dealing with it. That's where the program will help you.

Enrique

 

Thanks a lot for the responses

I am continuing on this program, I hope this works out.
First week was amazing, I've devoured everything I could find that's related to the issue. Healing back pain, success stories, Rachel's rsi page and this wiki. It was working and I was completely sure of the concept. After a week though, I've suddenly felt burned out. The fire went out for some reason, I lost that belief, deep inside, and I have no idea why.
Now everything I read, it makes sense, the success stories don't sound miraculous because during the last week I've came to accept this as a truth. On a subconscious level however, it seems like I've lost my way. In having trouble reigniting myself, my personal belief in this. I've had a very tough week, many work hours and I'm emotionally and physically tired and spent, so that is also a factor. I'll keep updating my progress, I hope I can get back on my feet...

 

You will get back on your feet and regain your belief in TMS.
Maybe you were hitting it too hard, spending too much time thinking about TMS causes and not spending enough time
enjoying everything else in your life. You also were in a tough work week. You need to give yourself more time to heal.

Keep re-reading the success stories and also the 12 Daily reminders in Dr. Sarno's book Healing Back Pain.

For more belief and inspiration, maybe read the book I wrote a few months ago with Eric Watson, another member of
the TMSWiki community, called GOD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO BE IN PAIN. It's in paperback and Kindle edition
at amazonsmile.com

Walt Oleksy