Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome : And Other Repetitive Strain Injuries (Paperback)

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Sharon Butler was working as a massage therapist and Hellerwork practitioner when she developed carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. Unable to sleep through the night because of the pain and concerned about her livelihood, she built upon her knowledge of connective tissue and developed a series of stretching exercises to gently relieve the tension in her body. After daily stretching in this way, her pain soon subsided. To prove that these exercises weren't just a fluke, Butler intentionally overworked her body to bring back her symptoms. While this may not have been the smartest move, her stretching program again relieved her pain.

The magic behind her powerful exercises is their focus on fascial tissue. Fascia, which is stronger than steel, holds the body together. It wraps around muscle fibers, bones, and tendons. (If you've ever looked at an uncooked piece of chicken and noticed the glistening white layer over the meat, you've seen fascia.) In people who overwork their bodies, the fascia hardens, a natural response to prevent future injury. Unfortunately, this stiffness worsens with repeated insults to the body. Muscles, nerves, and tendons tense up and inflame even more and may even adhere to each other. Metabolic waste products can build up and become trapped instead of being carried away by the lymph system, and even more pressure is placed on the affected body tissues.

Enter Butler's exercises. The book is arranged to let you pick and choose the correct stretches to suit your needs. Too much typing, guitar playing, or gardening? Stiff neck, tingling fingers, sore upper arms, or all three? However you developed your repetitive strain injury and whatever your upper-body symptoms (or if you're smart and you'd like to prevent such problems), there are multiple stretches in Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to suit your needs. The book is arranged to help users develop a personalized stretching program with more than 40 stretches for the upper body, forearms, wrists, fingers, and thumbs to choose from. Butler thoroughly explains the importance of stretching and the correct (and incorrect) way to do it, and the exercises are lucidly illustrated.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572240393
• ISBN-13: 978-1572240391
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #99,865 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Gentle Stretches But Not Enough For The Very Injured, November 26, 2005

By	birdie - See all my reviews

First I would like to say that Sharon Butler's description of how to stretch gently and effectively is fabulous - her book is probably the best resource for stretching available and I actually think everyone who uses a computer should have this book. It is incredible for prevention I think, healing up to a point, and for body awareness in general.

However...

I want to warn that if you are injured so severely to where you actually can't function (like I was) these stretches are probably not going to be what you need at first & you might be misled into thinking they will cure you. I think that to truly heal yourself from this kind of malady there are two other books that I would say are REQUIRED reading along with this one (ideally, I would recommend reading all 3 at the same time):

IT'S NOT CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME! by Suparna Damany and Jack Bellis - to understand the problem from many different angles and

THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK by Clair Davies. This book is amazing! Absolutely amazing because it shows you exactly how to get rid of these things called trigger points (yourself) which are usually at the root of MUCH of the pain and dysfunction of RSI's and Carpal Tunnel. He even says that if you have active trigger points, stretching of any kind can actually do more harm than good. I found this to be true, and it looks like some other readers have as well.

Once you have those other two books, Sharon Butler's would be the 3rd I'd recommend (and I think it is essential). I also at a certain point got her online book for healing the thumb injury called DeQuervain's (she has a 6-week stretching program aimed at different injuries) and I thought it was even better for me than CCTS because it was geared towards my particular unremitting problem.

Oh, be warned that if you do get one of her online book one of your first assignments in the program is to order a particular CD. Some might find this irksome, having just purchased a book - but mostly I was just glad to be given such a good program for stretching. I do recommend both this book as well as her online programs.

Well, good luck. Take this SERIOUSLY and save your hands. Go to Barnes and Noble and look through these books there if you're not ready to buy them - but INFORM yourself from all angles because otherwise this can become an incredibly serious problem.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book replaced anti-inflammatories and gave me my life back., December 2, 1997

By A Customer

Carpal Tunnel and related stress injuries struck me in mid-August and left me practically helpless for nearly 3 months. After 3 days of doing the stretching exercises in Butler's book, I was back to doing simple activities and completely off the high dosages of anti-inflammatories recommended by my doctor. I cannot recommend this book too highly. The exercises are super simple and can be done throughout the day whenever you have a moment - in front of the TV, while laying in bed, in the car at a stoplight. The exercises deal with the entire upper body, including arms and wrists. You can choose those appropriate to you and your activities. If you are not sure, Butler has a list of which exercises apply to certain lines of work. An excellent - and inexpensive - book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty great relief for me, April 28, 2003

By	Mario G. Perez Fonseca "Gerry Blue" (Guitarland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After 3 years of suffering RSI from working at a PC, I was desperate, and had tried regular medicine, and even acupuncture (this last, I'm still on, and it works) but the best relief I have found was from the series of exercises found on this book. From upper-body to hand-fingers, this book (Comprised of mostly full-page illustrations) helps you relieve the symptons of your RSI. I can't say I don't have any pain anymore, but I can say it has greatly reduced, and improving.
There is little text in this book, dealing mostly with how you should do the repetitions and how to avoid further injury, then it is right ot the action with the diagrams and instructions for every exercise.
If you have an RSI try this book, and also check for your posture while working, seating, and standing. I have a great non-commercial link about this for you, write me if you want it.

Health and peace to you.