I had RSI that was so bad I did stop coding for a year, went through physical therapists, doctors, and finally surgery, and I have one piece of advice to everyone:
Ask a doctor. There are far more variations of RSI than most people know. Taking someone else's advice may work, but you may be trying something that fixed a problem you do not have.
My problem ended up being a genetic variation in the structure of the tendon sheaths in my wrist. Many people have it, but if you fall in the middle of the Venn diagram of people with this problem and people who type a lot, it is a problem. Surgery was the only answer to fix it, in my case.
Again, my case will surely be different than yours. For many other people, ergonomics are all that is needed. But ask someone who specializes in these things. They can save you a lot of time and trouble.
Could you elaborate on this specific genetic condition? I, like many I'm sure, have been tossed back and forth from one clueless doctor to the next, none of whom have even an inkling about what RSI is, much less ways to treat it that don't involve blindly prescribing one drug after another. Does this condition have a specific name and/or type of specialist qualified to diagnose it? It definitely sounds like something worth exploring, but I wouldn't want to seek surgery yet if neither I nor my prospective doctor are familiar enough with this tendon sheath condition (this is the first time I've heard of it myself)
To be clear, I'm not suggesting that anyone reading this actually has the same problem as I did. Odds are, it is something else. The point is to ask a doctor who can help diagnose exactly which RSI you may have. That being said...
De Quervain's tenosynovitis was my RSI. But not all cases of that are the same anomaly as I had - this RSI is a case where the tendon sheath through which 2 tendons slide becomes inflamed. My specific root cause of it is that my sheath was bisected, making two sheaths, so there was less room for the tendons, and once inflamed, it just wouldn't heal. So the fix was to cut it open to make room. Sounds mildly barbaric, but it worked. Almost literally overnight.
No doctor will tell you to go for surgery for this, or any other RSI, immediately. Surgery is always the last answer. I ended up at a surgeon who specializes in wrists, but started with my family doc, then a physical therapist. If your family doc is not helping... which it sounds like they are not, seek out a wrist specialist.
Try what they suggest. Let them know if it doesn't work. But go sooner rather than later - these things can be fixed easier if you get help before it gets bad.
Comments
I had RSI that was so bad I did stop coding for a year, went through physical therapists, doctors, and finally surgery, and I have one piece of advice to everyone:
Ask a doctor. There are far more variations of RSI than most people know. Taking someone else's advice may work, but you may be trying something that fixed a problem you do not have.
My problem ended up being a genetic variation in the structure of the tendon sheaths in my wrist. Many people have it, but if you fall in the middle of the Venn diagram of people with this problem and people who type a lot, it is a problem. Surgery was the only answer to fix it, in my case.
Again, my case will surely be different than yours. For many other people, ergonomics are all that is needed. But ask someone who specializes in these things. They can save you a lot of time and trouble.
Could you elaborate on this specific genetic condition? I, like many I'm sure, have been tossed back and forth from one clueless doctor to the next, none of whom have even an inkling about what RSI is, much less ways to treat it that don't involve blindly prescribing one drug after another. Does this condition have a specific name and/or type of specialist qualified to diagnose it? It definitely sounds like something worth exploring, but I wouldn't want to seek surgery yet if neither I nor my prospective doctor are familiar enough with this tendon sheath condition (this is the first time I've heard of it myself)
To be clear, I'm not suggesting that anyone reading this actually has the same problem as I did. Odds are, it is something else. The point is to ask a doctor who can help diagnose exactly which RSI you may have. That being said...
De Quervain's tenosynovitis was my RSI. But not all cases of that are the same anomaly as I had - this RSI is a case where the tendon sheath through which 2 tendons slide becomes inflamed. My specific root cause of it is that my sheath was bisected, making two sheaths, so there was less room for the tendons, and once inflamed, it just wouldn't heal. So the fix was to cut it open to make room. Sounds mildly barbaric, but it worked. Almost literally overnight.
No doctor will tell you to go for surgery for this, or any other RSI, immediately. Surgery is always the last answer. I ended up at a surgeon who specializes in wrists, but started with my family doc, then a physical therapist. If your family doc is not helping... which it sounds like they are not, seek out a wrist specialist.
Try what they suggest. Let them know if it doesn't work. But go sooner rather than later - these things can be fixed easier if you get help before it gets bad.