Confused if I have a case of TMS or RSI

Hey, I’m new here and I’m just looking for some encouragement. I’m a 26 y/o male and last July, I was 25 at the time, injured my finger/elbow and arm. I stream on a website called Twitch so I use my PC a lot. Streaming and following my dreams is everything to me. I never had issues until last summer. At the time I was going through a lot of depression, a break up, and anticipating a move along with the fear of failing at my dreams plaguing me and trying to be better at what I loved. Well, my index finger started to get inflamed, then my wrist started to hurt and elbow in July, and in August my left hand started hurting too. I went to physical therapy and had x rays, and he didn’t say much about it, but my right hand was super weak and my left was strong. I recently started looking up tms and have felt better, my left wrist still hurts but everything else started to improve, until last week. I finally started streaming again after several months off to rest my hands and wrists and I felt like I was making improvements, then my left thumb started to hurt and is hurting as I text this. It’s bothered me at night some and throughout the day. I’m really scared I will have to take a break from streaming again because of my thumb. It feels like a real injury.

 

Tommy,

Something that is really weird about TMS is that it really feels like an injury. RSI is tms. I suggest you do one of the free programs on the wiki and read success stories. While there are some about RSI, all the stories are about tms and you can learn from them and maybe relate to any number of people who are telling how they made progress. The programs will educate you and the stories will reinforce and encourage you.

I'm very glad you are here and are already seeing some changes in the symptoms, that is TMS evidence! Good luck!
Lizzy

 

Hi Tommy,
I recovered from RSI using Dr Saron method. If the pain is moving around your hand during the day that's probably TMS. If you noticed your symptoms gets worse after being better that's another indication of TMS.
Start one of the Educational Programs available here and hope you'll get better soon.
Take care.

 

Thank you, I just notice it mainly in my thumb now. Yesterday it shot in my left index finger, then my left knee, and then to my pinky of my right hand. But the thumb is the only thing that’s pretty consistent. I’ll start looking for some treatment

 

One thing I forgot to mention, my right thumb started popping again after I started using the controller again and this pain started. But it was so odd, I wasn’t streaming or anything and all of a sudden my thumb starts hurting last thursday, and now it’s popping and feels like I hurt it again

 

Thank you for that. I tend to worry a lot, and throughout this injury the pain has moved around a lot. It just feels more consistent now that I’ve started doing what I really enjoy again.