Daniel L. RSI

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Question

Hello, my name is Sebastian. I'm 15 years old. And i have been playing computer for like 6 years, piano for 4 years, and i use a lot of time on my IPhone too. But now, for the last 9 months i had really bad feeling in my wrist and forearm, the RSI syndrom. I've read a lot of things about what to do, and how to fix it. But i kinda feel it won't work. I haven't been touching a computer for 2 months, but now i'm back agian, and i still hurts a lot. It feels like my arm is tired, and have been doing a workout, or something like that.

Please help

 

Answer

Sebastian! Thanks for writing in. I love when we have younger readers who are aware enough of themselves to recognize TMS patterns!

Here’s what I’d encourage. First, if you haven’t gone to a doctor, please do! I want you to first get everything checked out to make sure there is no injury. The good news is that even if there is an injury, you’re young, so you can and will completely heal quickly. Your doctor might want to get an MRI, which is great. That will give you the clarification you need about what’s going on. If there are no significant findings, then chances are, it’s TMS.

At that point, I want you to work on self-care. As TMSers, we have a tendency to push ourselves too hard. For example, when I was your age, I used to play a computer game called Unreal Tournament and I would play for days at a time. I literally would spend multiple days staring at the computer and give myself only a few hours of rest. I would even eat at the computer while I was playing.

Obviously, I wasn’t taking care of myself. While I thought I was having fun, I would usually end up feeling awful after each intense gaming experience.

Self-care means different things to different people. For me, going for a long run is my version of self-care. I love it and it makes me feel better.

I encourage you to start developing a few things that make you feel better without over-stressing your body. Start finding those things now and you’ll be that much better off later in life. Perhaps start a mindfulness practice if you haven’t already!

Use Diana Winston’s meditation exercises if you need a place to start:
http://www.dianawinston.com/meditations.html (Diana Winston | Mindful)

The RSI pain you’re experiencing will go away, but make sure you aren’t obsessing about it. If you are, then that’s your clue that you need to work harder on developing self-care techniques. Obsessive thinking is a product of not taking care of ourselves.

You’re going to be fine.

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