PT gone wrong or late healing? RSI+other stuff
 

So, to preface, I will say that I have been to my doctor about everything im typing, but im a little shaken up still and unsure where to go from here. tl;dr will be made

To start, I have only had issues for 3 months from this exact date. the original issue was some sparks from ulnar nerve compression and some pain and burning that came about from lots of... video games and sitting my elbows in stuff. to put it lightly, I had the pain for a while, but the sparkles went away after 3 weeks... The day after I had gotten over this I had a neck overflexion-induced back spasm that sent me to the bed and ER. after that, every day i slept i would irritate both arms and wake up with sparkly hands (and one of my foot), but no sensory deficit. infact, pain wasnt really increasing despite the twinging, besides two episodes where it felt like my nerves just got stretched a bit much.

this Stopped quick, and I went on with my life, still recovering from the original hand pain. I spent some time going to docs to make sure everything was alright, and literally everything came up "good" on their end, nerves, neck, back, Bloodwork (except wbc) even brain via MRI (way later) and EMGs (shortly after the twinging, weeks after initial complaint).

Fast forward 2 months, I get sent to PT and... Things went everywhere. I had just gotten to the point where I was ok driving, and I felt only dull aches besides some hypersensitivity of the back of my hand and my finger tips...

I immediately failed the Ross test, as my hands were still damaged and they simply couldnt take the Rapid movement. So i got started on a bunch of stretches for TOS...

And It was horrid. Days of dulling pain turned to weeks of every increasing pain, but it always settled down just enough so that I was a constant 3 or 2 by PT time. However, every week I gained a new symptom, always occuring at night or in the morning. the first week was what felt like whipping tails all over my skin, with pain then relief in some areas. next was situations where my wrist or even hand would just go to a solid 7 for hours and the once never present tingling came back during exercises. the last, (and strangest), was the feeling of spots in my fingers... "peeling" plus a burning pain. this sadly was the one I complained the most about as it was even more intense and accompanied by what felt like bubbles and a slight "feedback" feeling as if my fingers were pressed against a small film.

I asked my doctor, family, and friends and most told me to stop complaining and keep trying as I should "trust my pt" (along with loading up on gabapentin). I tried to be serious about it, but it felt horrid being not given direct reason as to WHAT this was. after week 3, i gave up as I spent most of my weekends in the bed unable to move my once driveable hands. areas that felt fine started getting hypersensitive too by week 3 such as my arms and shoulder. Soon every morning was a horrible feeling of strings zipping up my fingers, sometimes curling and shocking me, and now painful hands feel like "painful, slimy hands with tentacles on the inside that jumps a lot." all this wakes me up at night now which was something I was hoping not to deal with sleep issues anymore.

Im curious if anyone else had a situation like this or can tell me what the heck the slimey strings feeling is.

tl;dr: minor to moderate injury to hands, followed by minor injury to all nerves in arm, nerves deemed fine despite this via EMG, went to PT to get fixed but deemed to have neurological based pain, more neurological symptoms and unexplainable symptoms came during sessions, was told this was fine even though it was more painful than when I came in. Now wakes me up at night. scared.

Hello, I moved your post here, I think you can find the most help/info in our sticky threads and past posts a well as any new questions that come up as you seek healing..

I would seek out the best PTs or even and expert chiropractor if you notice any tilting or had any past hits or bumps to head/shoulders etc..
But really explore the sticky threads up above the main TOS page as they have soo much info Trigger points/PT /self help/how to find good PT etc..
main TOS page - sticky threads above the post list..they have a green circle w/ black arrow icon..
https://www.neurotalk.org/forum24/


IMO you have to be firm , if PT actions are making you worse/not helping much..... tell them and insist on new treatment plan. if they don't listen/change it. find another place/PT- check online for high ranked or positive reviews in your area..
hand bikes/weights / stretchy6 bands=== not good if you are having symptoms & pain.. wrong treatment plan..
I would ask if they are knowledgeable about TOS (some will say yes. but they only know the basics and not best plan for rehab)
after you read here awhile , you will better be able to tell if they know real info or not..
TOS/RSI can overlap , I'd look for TOS treatment , to avoid surgery & that should heal the RSI factor also..

And posture work/awareness!!- head /shoulders forward - a bad thing check yours..

I've been thru a lot of PT for other joints and I'm years older. But I keep thinking the younger generations will be ending up with a lot of hand and arm issues due to the repetitive motions of the video games, ipads etc. I can see this for my grandkids as they've been working with these gadgets for years already. Work to stay off some of the electronics. Wearing supports could help your hands/arms. I can't offer anything else.

Ive been mostly resting since PT in hopes of it getting "healed", but its honestly a lot scarier to have electrical shocks,strings, bubbles and hot moving parts under your skin than just... painful hands. Its not something I got used to as all my older neurological issues resolved without strange effects (outside hypersensitivity in the back of my hands).

Ive been aware of my posture for a while, too. its part of the reason I got ulnar nerve entrapment at one point; I had been watching vids on how to improve your posture for month on end and trying to apply it because I had just got a new desk and wasnt sure if it was up to code (Had to get a small step stool to put under my desk), but all the vids i saw showed people using arm rest or their desk. But by the time I got to a doctor, I was slumped over all the time because of how painful it was and how reliant I became on my phone due to voice activation.

Il look through the info though. If not, third opinion may mean going up state based on this list...

some things that really helped for me- self care..
https://www.neurotalk.org/members/100-albums422.html

Repetitive Strain Injury

Along with a very good whole body chiropractor that used ultrasound, IF stim, Low level laser, massage, top rib adjusting etc..was really beneficial for me.