KorvusKorax

Hello friends. It's me, Taran! If you don't know me, I'm the one editing most of the LTT videos these days!
 
I've had a few people on Twitter asking me why my TechQuickie video about RSI is no longer available for viewing. I can't respond in 140 characters, so I thought I would post here.
 
Long story short: I was wrong.
 
Let's start at the beginning. A few months after I started working for LMG, I started to suffer from painful RSI (repetitive strain injury) in both my hands. This lasted for about a year, and I even had to stop working for a few months so I could recover. The pain in my hands got so bad at one point, that I was starting to have trouble with simple things like doing laundry, making food, and turning doorknobs. So, forget about video editing! I thought my career was over.
 
I went to see a LOT of doctors, but nothing they suggested seemed to be working for me:
 
Stretching
Low weight endurance training
Hot/cold contrast baths
ultrasound
IR laser therapy
splints
NSAIDs (ibuprofen)
 
The pain was only getting worse. In my search for answers, I learned about Dr. Sarno’s book “The Mindbody Prescription,” with a crazy-sounding idea that chronic pain like RSI could be neurological in origin. The word for this is “psychosomatic" pain, or "Tension Myositis Syndrome" (TMS). It's real pain, but caused by psychological stress, with little to no physical cause.
 
According to this book, my RSI could supposedly be treated with mental exercises, not physical exercises. With nothing left to lose, I tried it. Imagine how thrilled I was when it actually worked, and my yearlong pain totally vanished within a week. Not only did the pain go away, it STAYED away, for month after month. I was back to work. I was thrilled.
 
I waited for the pain to come back, and it didn’t. That's when I made the video, where I praised Dr. Sarno’s book on the subject – even while warning that some of his ideas seemed like kooky pseudoscience.
 
Then, a few months later, I had a relapse of RSI pain that could NOT be resolved using the methods I learned from Dr. Sarno's book. I could then see that my pain was NOT merely neurological, and I still didn’t have the whole answer.
 
I needed a physical solution. After more experimentation, I found it:
 
- I started working out more. I did Stronglifts 5x5, with reduced weight and more reps. Edit: It's the bench press and rows that help me. Also, weight doesn't seem to matter, as long as I get tired, and do enough reps. Also, I had to stop doing deadlifts and squats, due to great knee pain, probably caused by hyperextension. (Don't let your knees (or elbows) go past 180° while under load!)
- I occasionally do LIGHT arm/hand stretches, just to the point where I feel the stretch, and NO FURTHER (or it causes pain instead!) Edit: I don't do this anymore.
- Hard self-massage of my forearm, especially around the wrist/elbow joints. Very helpful. Edit: I no longer do this, so maybe it doesn't matter.
- Using a powerball: https://powerballs.com/
- Proper workplace ergonomics, my video for which is still pretty good.
 
These things WORKED for me, and continue to work even now. I'm 100% pain free in the left hand, and 99% pain free in the right hand.
 
Edit, 2017: I can lift 3x as much as when I started weightlifting, but it's made no difference to the RSI. Whatever the issue is, it is not a matter of strength. I still must go to the gym twice a week at a minimum. 1-2 days after going to the gym, my RSI pain will diminish. And If I don't go to the gym for 4 days, the pain starts to come back, and only increases day by day... until I go to the gym again.
 
Edit, March 2018: My arms are now 4x stronger than when I first started weightlifting. I am able to go to the gym only once a week, without the RSI pain returning in the interim. It hardly bothers me anymore. I've also been able to use different mice, whereas before, I had to use a very specific, kinda shitty mouse, which had just the right ergonomic shape. I really should go to the gym more often, but it is no longer absolutely necessary. Also, my knees are improving, but I must still go easy on them. I'm glad to have an electric bike.
 
So what's the deal with Dr. Sarno's wacky ideas about psychosomatic pain? Is he right, or not?
 
Well, I still do believe there's something to it. After all, I did end a year of pain in one week using Sarno's ideas. But here's what I think actually happened: I did all the physical therapy suggested by my doctors, and it worked to heal my arms. But my body was so used to being in pain at that point, that I kept experiencing the pain even though the physical problems had been mostly addressed. After I read Sarno's book, I was able to let go of this and allow myself to be pain free. That's when I made the video, and I stopped doing all of the physical therapy that kept my arms healthy, thinking I had healed for good. The pain slowly crept back, until I was able to figure out a good physical solution, which I still use to this day.
 
So, I do still think that RSI pain can have a neurological aspect to it, because that has been my experience. But I DON'T think it is the whole answer -- which is what Sarno claims, and which is what I implied in that video. So, embarrassed, I took the video down. It was irresponsible to make it the way I did, and it would be irresponsible to keep it up.
 
RSI is an important subject for those of us who use a computer all day, but maybe that video should never have been made. If I were to make the video again, I would limit the mention of TMS / psychosomatic pain to one paragraph, and allow viewers to look into it on their own. 
 
I typed this all with my hands rather than dictating it. I'm not totally pain free, but I'm doing much, much better, and I'm once again able to edit the LTT videos that you all enjoy.
 
I hope that clears everything up.
 
 
Proof it's me:
https://twitter.com/TaranVH/status/641458428917878784
 
LINKS:
 
Physical recovery info:
https://powerballs.com/  or NSDpowerus.com
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/2b4tso/hurt_your_wrist_heres_are_all_the_tips_i_have/
 
Dubious info about anti-inflammatories being useless: (I still have no idea if this is correct.)
http://www.tendonitisexpert.com/anti-inflammatory.html
 
TMS / psychosomatic stuff: (Also dubious)
http://blog.evanweaver.com/2012/09/05/a-programmers-guide-to-healing-rsi/
http://aaroniba.net/articles/tmp/how-i-cured-my-rsi-pain.html
http://www.rsipain.com/success-story-carpal-tunnel-syndrome-plantar-fasciitis.php
http://rsi-backpain.co.uk/
Audible link to Sarno's books (They are hard to find in a library)
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Repetitive_Strain_Injuries_-_RSI

meh, i wanna play far cry four. but i don't wanna give ubisoft money or give them the numbers for pirating.