hi James,

Sorry to hear that you're having a rough time. I thought I would get in touch because I have been having a very similar problem for the last 18 months. I am 33 years old and previously entirely healthy and very active. I had been doing a lot of Intensive weight lifting and no stretching along with a lot of computer work, guitar and piano in the run up to my injury. After doing way too many chin ups from a stairwell the Christmas before last I developed pain which was initially diagnosed as acute flexor tendinitis in both forearms, I had insanely reduced range of motion in my wrists and a very weak grip. after trying to ignore the pain and carry on weightlifting and playing the guitar for a week or so my hands practically seized up.

The issue seemed to go away with rest and anti-inflammatories but when I started trying to do isometric rehabilitation wrist curls about eight weeks after the initial injury in an attempt to get myself strong enough to go back to the gym it flared up terribly with all kinds of bizarre sensations; deep cramp, pins and needles, non-existent grip strength and hands that felt like cotton wool, burning sensations .... I was left unable to type (I'm currently using voice dictation software) wash up, drive a car, lift a bag of shopping, swim or play guitar and over a year later still haven't got close to recovery.

The NHS has been no help at all. For the first six months I was told to rest my arms when I flared up, wait until the pain had gone before trying isometric exercises again, each time with a lighter weight. Each time the exercises only served to make things worse and during all of this time I barely had any real ability to use my hands.

A few months ago I came back from a three-month trip to Australia where I saw a number of physios who expressed doubt that I had anything wrong with my tendons Saying that they felt it was much more likely given my symptoms that it was a neural problem. On returning to the UK I saw another orthopaedic specialist on the NHS who said he felt I had non-specific pain syndrome or RSI type 2 as it is also known. I'm going to be receiving Wikipedia reference-linkMRI scans in the next month or so on the NHS. In the meantime I am left with no course of treatment and no real explanation as to what is wrong with me.Being diagnosed of RSI type 2 is basically the same as being told that you are in pain but that they don't know why as the symptoms don't fit with any recognized, easily detected injury. a neurophysiologist at Sussex University is currently conducting a study into the possible pathology behind RSI type 2 symptoms, I've been in contact with him and he is interested in finding people who are suffering from these conditions to take part in clinical studies. The theory he is working on is that it is to do with damage and/or inflammation in the median nerve. If you are interested I can forward his details.

Two weeks ago I attended the RSI support group meeting in London and got some really useful information from them. The NHS really does seem to be pretty useless when it comes to these problems despite the fact that RSI can have a massive impact on otherwise entirely healthy people's lives . There is a dedicated RSI clinic in India and another in Philadelphia in the States which I'm considering getting in touch with. In the meantime I'm continuing doing next to nothing with my arms apart from light stretching and light day-to-day activities which don't irritate them.

Sorry this is such a long message, I just thought you might like to know that there are other people out there experiencing the same frustration that you are. You should get in touch with Stephen at who could give you advice and information. he is also putting together a bunch of case studies in order to put pressure on the Department of Health to pay more attention to these debilitating conditions. I'm sure he would like to hear from you

Let me know how things work out who you and if you find anything or anyone that helps your condition

Take care, stay positive. jon