[Chicago] trying to find old post on wrist therapy for RSI

[Jeffrey Zellman]

I'll briefly share what has worked for me... I've been suffering
computer related arm, neck, wrist and back pain for the past for the
past 7 years (since I was 23). Originally I thought it was RSI/Carpal
Tunnel. Turns out my pain was actually coming from trigger points in
my arm, neck, and back muscles. My end goal was to be self sufficient,
not have to rely on injections, pain medication, or even something
irreversible (like surgery). Today, I can work most days without any
pain. When I was 23, the pain was so bad I contemplated switching
careers. What has worked for me is soft tissue massage/trigger point
releases, improving posture, taking breaks, moderate weight lifting,
and eating healthier.

- soft tissue massage/trigger point releases - Make an appointment
with Mary @ http://www.myopain.com (they are located downtown Chicago)
and order this book from amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1572243759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362024380&sr=8-1&keywords=trigger+point+therapy
I visited Mary I think twice in teh past 7 years. She is the reason
why I can still program for a living.
- Improving posture/taking breaks - there are a ton of resources
online regarding posture (I can dig some up if you would like), but I
also keep an egg timer on my desk and set it at 45 minutes. When it
goes off, I get up and walk around for 5 minutes. Any thinking about
code is not done at my desk either. Oh and I built a treadmill desk
that I frequently work from. Humans were not meant to sit at desks all
day :)
- Moderate weight lifting - mostly pushups, planks, squats (no
weights), and pull ups. The goal for me was to strengthen core/large
muscle groups.
- Eating healthier - I try to stay away from grains and sugars (since
they cause inflammation) and try to eat Paleo about 80% of the time
(See the primal blueprint:
http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Blueprint-Reprogram-effortless-boundless/dp/0982207786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362024579&sr=1-1&keywords=primal+blueprint)

Anyways, this is what has worked for me, I know everyone is different,
but I hope some of this will be useful.

Jeff



On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 9:21 PM, Daniel Peters <danieltpeters at gmail.com> wrote:
> if anyone could dredge it up.....?  Or simply re-comment? I tried searching
> through my archive but can't seem to find it......
>
> I think about 2 years ago, possibly even earlier, right after I started
> following this list someone posted techniques on alleviating  RSI, and I'm
> desperately in need of any real advice that I could get on that.  Exercises,
> equipment, voodoo spells, I'm interested.  I know this is like the "which
> editor do you recommend" question in that it gets asked all the time, but
> well....sorry.  I also deeply enjoy playing guitar and would like to keep
> annoying friends and roommates for years to come with my, erm, delightful
> strumming.  Thanks for the time chipy!
>
>
>
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