1 year of wrist pain as a software engineer, healed in ~2 weeks

I read the Mindbody Prescription and was completely done with wrist pain in about 2 weeks. I had been in pain for more than a year.

There were a few things in my life that coincided with the onset of pain:

1. A minor bouldering accident
2. Extensive usage of the horrible 2016 Macbook keyboard.
3. Working through the holidays on an ambitious project

I had recently switched teams at work. As a result, I worked more hours than I usually would (i.e. ~70 hrs/week).

The pain started in my right wrist. After a few months, it affected both wrists.

Here's a short list of things I tried that did not work:

* No computer on the weekend or evenings outside of work.
* Nightly cold packs.
* Ibuprofen - more than I wish to admit.
* Wrist protectors every night in bed.
* Daily running.
* Reduced work hours.
* Gave up climbing/bouldering.
* Massage with a golf ball.
* Wrist exercises.
* Ergonomic keyboard (Kinesis Advantage).
* Yoga
* Occupational therapist visits with massage.

None of this worked, but sometimes gave temporary relief. The pain always went away on the weekend or on vacation but, was back on Monday at work. I took several weeks off and magically the pain was back the first day I was back.

One weekend, I read through the whole book. I recognized myself in it. I'm a perfectionist. I'm a high stress individual. I'm bad at relaxing.

After reading the book, I took occasional breaks to remind myself of the facts:
* My pain went away with exercise, which suggested low blood flow was the cause
* My pain went away when not working, indicating that it might be related to the _thought_ of work, rather than the actual _activity_ of work
* That other people, just like me, had TMS and had been cured

I read a few testimonials. This was probably most impactful for me: http://www.rsipain.com/success-story-severe-forearm-pain.php (Success Story: How I Cured my RSI Pain) I think reading these occasionally helped me a great deal.

After a few weeks, I was cured. I could work again in cramped airplanes on terrible keyboards for hours on end.

I hope someone else finds this and it helps them.

 

Thanks for your story and for the link.

 

Thanks for sharing. Even I had experienced the same situation. I discovered that I can get rid of the pain once I keep my mind away from the pain which distracts me from working. Along with this I also took physiotherapy treatment from Toronto. That was probably responsive for me. The exercises and massage suggested by the therapist gave me great relief. Always stay away from the stressful thoughts related to work. Your story is definitely a motivation and will guide people in the right direction.