Sounds like my dislocated shoulder. Every now and then I nearly dislocate it again just doing normal things. Sucks dood :\

"They look like good, strong hands...don't they?" /neverending story.

Heh sorry, first thing that came to mind. :P That must surely be annoyingly difficult to deal with happening over and over. Hope there might be something that comes along for ya that helps.

Slice 'em off and get some Luke Skywalker robo-hands, maybe? :P

stop masterbatin'! D=

I'm sorry to hear Slate =( I hope you do fine something to help it clear up soon.

well,.. lee,.. the great man of kung fu,.. he used and invented the hand squeeze thing,.. he used it for this very problem,.. it builds endurance for the hands and forearms in time and less and less injury results from a healthy body.

ok, ill resite something from a textbook, it wont heal them, BUT it will recuperate them:

Hand exersizes:
-spread fingers apart for several seconds while keeping wrists strait
-gently push back fingers and then thumb
-dangle arms loosely at sides and then shake arms and hands

i had RSI too, to much computer ussage... also, try to not switch between keyboard, mouse...or other as often

Pretty much the same thing in my lower back ("muscle strain"). I'm almost bedridden because of it. Sitting in chairs, standing on hard floors, riding in the car, it all hurts so much I'm almost brought to tears, and it hasn't healed at all since April.

:(

Be happy you don't have this in the neck man :[

that sounds like my luck with jobs...

I have problems with carpal tunnel because I type a great deal writing my stories. I think the hands get such worse than any other part because actions are repeated most often with the hands. And there are so many joints.
There's always using a wrist restraint (like bowlers) wrap it in an elastic bandage, and in one layer between your wrist and the elastic can place one of those hand warmer things that they use in winter. And of course you can soak your hands and wrists like you would your feet or any other body part to help relax the muscles.
If I think of anything else, will let you know.

Doctor, doctor! It hurts when I do this!

Then don't do that.

Problem solved...

about 3 years ago my neck clicked really loudly whenever i turned my head to the left. then about 2 years ago i developed a violent twitch, again in my neck, that then spread to my arms and i also developed a stutter. trust me, never a good thing when you have both a stutter and a twitch. i'd be standing, talking to someone, my arm twitches and throws it's self away from my body and hits someone behind me XD that's embarising. luckily my stutter and twitch are starting to regress. maybe you should cast your hands to stop them from moving so they can heal?

Honestly, you're going to have to be gentle with your wrists, elbows and hands for a long time.

Minimize strain. Use good posture and the absolute softest touch whenever you're typing - just enough pressure to move the keys. Same thing for drawing. Take breaks to shake out your hands and stretch your wrists every 15 minutes or so. Get a good night's sleep as much as you can! Deep sleep really helps your body heal.

I used to have the same problem as you, constantly relapsing, until I really buckled down and gave my arms some rest. Try replacing computer time with watching movies/tv/talking/walking - anything that's entertaining and doesn't involve your hands.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

Most of all, good luck :)

Didn't realize this, but yeah - working in "TV breaks" actually helped quite a bit when I was last sliding into cramps and blah. I think it's both a matter of the rest and the... psycho-kinetic? aspect; for ~30 minutes you're specifically *not* thinking of holding or gripping something at all. It's not really a brainmelt - it's American meditation.

But if you can't sit through commercials and hold the remote in a channel-surfing deathgrip, try movies or boxed sets instead. (Or walking, which is the same deal, with more exercise but potentially more-boring scenery.)

TENS pain device? I picked one up for £15 in Lloyds pharmacy in Aberystwyth (I'm guessing they could be cheaper in the US)

Some thoughts:

Make sure you don't grind your wrist into the desk when mousing, that's a worst-offender.

Keep an eye on whether your activities are bending your wrists and related parts down or up, then stretch opposite or reconfigure your workspace to compensate. (I find a higher keyboard is better than a low one for me, if it's high enough that I have to hold my arms a bit 'bunny-rabbit' and wouldn't find grinding palms or wrists into anything comfortable. Observe your normal posture to see if it involves grinding any nerve tunnels, or severe backwards hand-bends as opposed to the 'letting your fingers rain loosely over the keys' posture.) ... and when in doubt, 'press down' with your palms rather than 'leaning in' with the wrists - or pressing your palms back into them.

Give your pieces a week off [braces etc. may help in the extremes] so basic inflammation can go down. If it's writer's/artist's cramp, I'm less familiar with that, but rest can't hurt. Modest use of NSAIDs might speed that phase along. [And if a Kung-Fu grip is contributing... In all srsness, switch off to something like a Tenga during the rest period. You don't exactly notice bad posture in the moment.]

When you feel like you can move whatever hurts again, go do something completely different that you don't recall causing you pain - light sports, gardening, going for a walk or hike or swim and swinging/flexing/using-your-appendages like a pre-technological hominid. If that 'loosens things up' rather than causing a relapse, work it into your schedule. And work aspects of it into your typing/drawing breaks; just thinking about performing a different activity can push the relaxation/tension loci through different muscles.

Sorry to hear that dude.

There is a glove you can wear that basically is fingerless, but a loop goes around the thumb and it has padding for the palm and support up the wrist that forces you to keep your wrist straight with the hand. It does bend but with great resistance, encouraging the healing process.

It's known as a Carpal Tunnel Support Glove or brace, and is sold in office supply stores and some pharmacies. Some come with a removable splint for the back of the hand. You can type and use a mouse with it, but that palm padding does make it a little weird to rest your palm on the keyboard and type as you're accustomed, and definitely mouse usage will change - your grip will be more tentative. I'd really recommend a trackpad alternative for recouperation at least.

you could try to use a powerball. it helps against RSI.

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