Does anyone else suffer from repetitive stress/strain/motion injuries?

Thanks, everyone! I have been letting my sore shoulder rest, and allowing the non-sore parts of my body "pick up the slack". I'm going to try the Glucosamine chondroitin and Zyflamend. I was so worried that I had injured my shoulder beyond repair, but the last 4 days of minimal use has helped it tremendously.

oh---what are the negative side effects of the products above? (just so I can weigh the pros/cons)

thanks again!

You have my empathy!

I had 3 youngsters within 2-3 years of each other; I'm a professional web geek spending half my day at the keyboard, and there are probably numerous activities involving repetitive motion that I can't even put a sore finger on, right now. Glucosamine chondroitin really does help the joint pain, as well as a nice session with a resistance band to stretch out even the shoulders.

You may want to see your doctor, again, and get some help with your self-therapy and healing. Better that than to develop long term injuries.

Alison, when I worked at newspapers full time I got RSI in my right elbow and shoulder (I am right-handed). All those years on the computers really took a toll on me, and I was in a lot of pain for a while.

I did go to a doctor and, like you, had NSAIDs. But no splint. (Be careful, though, they'll put you in a sling if you wait too long and overuse the joint too much. Better to go sooner rather than later.)

One thing I did was retrain myself to use my left hand as my computer mouse hand. I just decided that my right hand had borne the primary responsibility for things for too long and that my left hand was going to pick up some of the slack, lol! I also tried to realize how many things I did with my right hand to see if I could do some of them with my left hand -- carry my purse, brush my teeth, carry plates to the table, etc. It probably took me about six months before I was back to normal.

Of course you need both hands to pick up your son, but if you can lead with your left, maybe it will actually strengthen your weaker side. And perhaps there are other areas where you could retrain your left hand to do tasks and give the right shoulder a break. Things like making your left hand be the primary hand to pick up toys, clear the table, brush your hair or hold the hair dryer -- any of these things that the left hand can learn to do gives the right shoulder a break. And then perhaps there are some shoulder stretches they can give you that will help.

I'm commiserating with you. My sister has four kids, and two of them were 15 months apart. She'd probably tell you that her aches and pains didn't start going away until the youngest was 3 years old, but I don't want to discourage you, lol!

I have a friend who is a pharmacist, the problem with carpal tunnel is pretty high among pharmacists as they have to make those repetitive motions to ensure the bottles are opened and closed properly. I know in my friends case she takes short 1-2 minute breaks and stretches and rotates her wrists to give them a break. With the introduction of computers in our lives, we do not even think about the repetitive motion of our wrists to control the mouse or staying on the same position when typing at the key board. No only that, how about spending so much time sitting at a desk at work or home typing, typing, typing. There is nothing better than taking little breaks to stretch neck, back and other muscles. Supplements of MSM, Glucosamine with Chondroitin and there is a nice product call Zyflamed that helps joints recover from inflamation.