Research has indicated that massage helps with pain from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or RSI. I have personally tried this many times with mixed results, but then realized a better way to approach it. The problem may be that many massage therapists do not know how to lightly work on the affected areas, nor do they know the specific anatomy of the hands and wrists area. After a massage my hands would feel like I typed far too long. It would take a day or two for me to recover.
Massage from my hand therapist has helped my condition and ease pain. They work very slowly and very gently with the affected areas. When I have gotten some massages from general practitioners, I initially ran into some that were not well-versed in human anatomy, which ended up causing more harm than good. I later found a massage therapist that understood trigger points and muscle anatomy who was able to really help alleviate my symptoms and educate me on how to do it myself.
Before you make a massage appointment, try to make sure that the therapist is a “Certified Massage Therapist (CMT)”, who is well versed in myofascial release and trigger points. Quiz them about previous work with RSI sufferers and ask for references. Weekly massage trips are not out of the question for severe cases. Ask them what specific muscle groups they will be attacking. If they don’t mention palm, forearms, pectoralis minor and major and scalenes, you probably should look elsewhere. The more experienced Therapists would use hot packs on specific areas to make manipulation easier. They taught me that it was essential to stretch after having this body work.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the director at SMI in Palo Alto and the Myofascial Therapies Center in San Francisco have done a good job for me.
Isotoner Gloves
Isotoner Gloves were recommended to me by my hand therapist to ease pain and swelling of hands to to my RSI or carpal tunnel syndrome. They work like compression socks or tights, providing a very tight fit.
Without a doubt, the massage ‘therapists’ you used had neither the skill nor the experience to effectively deal with the pain causing dynamic in your forearms.
Some states are much better than others at requiring appropriate levels of education to massage therapists.
Washington, for instance, requires over 500 hours of education before it gives out a license.
California has no state license. It’s all by city and county.
So in California and other similar states, it’s common to become a massage ‘therapist’ with two weeks of classes.