How One Patient Battled RSI with Yoga

Alice had been typing for over ten years when she developed chronic RSI symptoms, primarily what we’ve called a muscular trauma path. She had reached the point where pain in her hand, arm, and neck was so debilitating it forced her away from her job, managing software developers. After four doctors and two therapists failed to help her, she was diagnosed by Dr. Pascarelli and treated by Suparna. To make a long story short, she got significant relief from the therapy we’ve spelled out—she estimates 85 percent—but in the course of the journey decided that the underlying work/life style was less than it should be. Here is her message about RSI and yoga.

"Yoga literally means ‘union’ of the mind, body, and spirit. According to the Sivananda philosophy of yoga, to unite the three, one must engage in the necessary practices of: exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet, positive thinking, and meditation. The combination of these items, when done properly, has a profound effect on the mind, body, and spirit. In the West, the mind, body, and spirit are treated as separate entities that are not connected. For example, we go to a doctor to mend our bodies, a house of worship to attend to our spirits, and a psychiatrist to heal our minds. In the East, the mind, body, and spirit are not only interrelated, but inseparable; disease is considered a signal of blocked energy resulting in a physical manifestation. In the East, it is impossible to talk about disease without considering the state of the mind and spirit.

"Yoga can benefit RSI sufferers in many ways. Most have been sitting in front of a computer for years. Their bodies have become tight and stiff, stress has battered the areas where computer use is concentrated, breathing has become shallow and irregular, and muscles and tendons have worked so hard to keep the body in this position that they have actually shortened. Hatha yoga concentrates on stretching and strengthening the entire body, teaching correct breathing (full diaphragmatic, intercostal, and apical breathing), learning deep relaxation, and quieting and calming the mind. By practicing yoga over time, the body becomes more supple and capable of relaxing.

"On a physiological level, the yoga practitioner consciously and unconsciously learns how to decrease the stress in the mind and body and increase the ability to relax during daily life. In doing so, he or she learns to inhibit the "fight or flight" response—the sympathetic nervous system—which to this point has been over-activated, and activate the "rest and repair" response, or the parasympathetic nervous system, which has been underutilized by the body. The response of the nervous system directly affects proper breathing, daily exercise, calming the mind, and genuine relaxation.

"It takes a long time to repair injuries incurred over a long period. When RSI patients begin to pursue yoga, they may find themselves in relapse and reinjury because yoga requires using all parts of the body including the main RSI trouble spots. The first time I did yoga after having numerous RSI symptoms for two years, my hands and arms were so out of shape because of injury that I could not do major portions of the class. I could not use my hands to support my body; I used my forearms and elbows instead. In addition, it changed me mentally—I wanted to do the postures. When I pushed myself, I found myself in pain that often took considerable time to heal. Over and over again, I learned patience. It took a long time but eventually, I could do a whole class using my hands. When I was strong enough to complete a class, I learned through pain that I still had little endurance. Some of the yoga postures are very repetitive and I am still prone to injury resulting from repetitive motion. I suspect that many RSI patients will experience the same.

"Attending yoga classes also taught me that my mind ran uncontrollably, and that I was unable to relax. There is a time to rest between postures and at the end of the class. Over time, I learned what relaxation really means. It took me a long time to understand that I was not relaxing and that my mind was not calm. Meditation was also a key for calming my mind and enabling me to relax.

"For RSI patients, the process of rehabilitation brings body awareness, emotional awareness, and soul searching about the presence of the injury. By relaxing the body and calming the mind with yoga and meditation, the RSI patient soon experiences the body becoming more supple, and comes to a more peaceful understanding of their injury. As in any activity, RSI patients must be careful in their practice of yoga, learning their body’s limitations, and accepting them. With time and dedication to yoga, you can heal your repetitive strain problem."

-- A. B.