[.ca] Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive ... (ISBN 1572240393)

From Amazon.com:
Sharon Butler was working as a massage therapist and Hellerwork practitioner when she developed carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. Unable to sleep through the night because of the pain and concerned about her livelihood, she built upon her knowledge of connective tissue and developed a series of stretching exercises to gently relieve the tension in her body. After daily stretching in this way, her pain soon subsided. To prove that these exercises weren't just a fluke, Butler intentionally overworked her body to bring back her symptoms. While this may not have been the smartest move, her stretching program again relieved her pain. The magic behind her powerful exercises is their focus on fascial tissue. Fascia, which is stronger than steel, holds the body together. It wraps around muscle fibers, bones, and tendons. (If you've ever looked at an uncooked piece of chicken and noticed the glistening white layer over the meat, you've seen fascia.) In people who overwork their bodies, the fascia hardens, a natural response to prevent future injury. Unfortunately, this stiffness worsens with repeated insults to the body. Muscles, nerves, and tendons tense up and inflame even more and may even adhere to each other. Metabolic waste products can build up and become trapped instead of being carried away by the lymph system, and even more pressure is placed on the affected body tissues. Enter Butler's exercises. The book is arranged to let you pick and choose the correct stretches to suit your needs. Too much typing, guitar playing, or gardening? Stiff neck, tingling fingers, sore upper arms, or all three? However you developed your repetitive strain injury and whatever your upper-body symptoms (or if you're smart and you'd like to prevent such problems), there are multiple stretches in Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to suit your needs. The book is arranged to help users develop a personalized stretching program with more than 40 stretches for the upper body, forearms, wrists, fingers, and thumbs to choose from. Butler thoroughly explains the importance of stretching and the correct (and incorrect) way to do it, and the exercises are lucidly illustrated.

I highly recommend this book!:
If you have an RSI, get this book. (Also, I just found out that Sharon Butler has a web site: http://www.selfcare4rsi.com. I'm definitely going to check it out.) This book presents information on RSIs not found elsewhere. It begins with a concise but thorough discussion of the role of fascia in the development of RSIs. From my personal experience with over a dozen MDs, many doctors, even hand specialists, don't understand the role of fascia in these injuries. As a result, despite their good intentions, they can't effectively help many RSI sufferers. Neither can many well-intentioned physical therapists. Also, never before had I heard of the concept of the "stretch point," which is the secret of success for this program. I suspect that people who don't get results with this program have not applied this concept but are stretching too hard and fast, only worsening their symptoms. Besides helping you figure out which stretches to do for your symptoms, there's a "Prevention by Profession" section that lists various professions and the suggested stretches to do for them. It's not just computer users who get these injuries! If I was able to recover from my disabling RSI, so can you. Good luck with your recovery!

Pretty great relief for me:
After 3 years of suffering RSI from working at a PC, I was desperate, and had tried regular medicine, and even acupuncture (this last, I'm still on, and it works) but the best relief I have found was from the series of exercises found on this book. From upper-body to hand-fingers, this book (Comprised of mostly full-page illustrations) helps you relieve the symptons of your RSI. I can't say I don't have any pain anymore, but I can say it has greatly reduced, and improving. There is little text in this book, dealing mostly with how you should do the repetitions and how to avoid further injury, then it is right ot the action with the diagrams and instructions for every exercise. If you have an RSI try this book, and also check for your posture while working, seating, and standing. I have a great non-commercial link about this for you, write me if you want it. Health and peace to you.

Great Exercises:
Each of her exercises are easy to understand and really hit the spot. And the method of cross-indexing the troubled spot of your body to the correct stretching exercise makes it easy to find the right one for you.

Caused more pain:
The good: The exercises are categorized and easy to understand. The exercises probably are effective for most people. The bad: Following the exercises precisely for three weeks, I felt much more numbness and weakness. For some, these stretches may actually exacerbate the problem. Beware, and begin slowly. If you are one who finds benefit, then gradually increase the number of stretches and the time you spend stretching. If, however, your symptons increase, slow down or stop. Good luck!

A Godsend:
As a chiropractor, I can, and frequently do, heartily recommend this brilliant book to people with all kinds of aches and pains so that they can heal themselves. One of the most striking things about this book is it's simple design that makes it very easy to use. Within 15 minutes of picking up this book you can understand what a "stretch point" is (don't skip that part) and begin doing stretches geared specifically to your symptoms. What a great contribution Sharon Butler has made to healthcare! Pete Sutliff, D.C.