Books

Below is a list of books that I have read in my battle to overcome RSI. I will comment on the top rated ones first, so that you can get to work quickly if you feel so inclined to make a purchase. Not all the books get stellar reviews, so I will comment on others as well.

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, 2nd Edition.
5 Stars!
This is not the first book I read on my path to healing, but, from a physical standpoint, it was one of the best. I also recommend it as a First Read in your path to healing. The reason for this is that it not only gives a quick fix to the problem, so that you can discontinue your use of any drugs you may be taking for the pain (anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen and Aleve are very common), but because it also helps to educate you about muscle structure and how the body refers pain. Clair and Amber Davies (a Father and Daughter duo) have described elegantly the way muscle trigger points, small areas of problematic muscle tissue, refer pain to other muscles. For instance, if you're feeling pain in your hand from using the mouse for long periods of time, you wouldn't message your hand. You would start by messaging your forearm or even your chest/neck. This book is amazing, and even though it is not the end cure for RSI symptoms, I have used it as my quick fix or drug replacement with great success.

Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection.
5 Stars!!
John Sarno's work on TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome) is revolutionary and controversial. He describes all chronic pain, from RSI, carpal tunnel and neck pain, to back aches and headaches, as having emotionally rooted causes. Modern medical doctors probably don't agree with him, as they continue to prescribe invasive back and carpal tunnel surgery and gross amounts of intestinal destroying medications. His approach is much different from the norm, and takes a paradigm shift to fully accept and implement the techniques within. To briefly summarize, he contends that all chronic pain (that lasts longer than the typical healing process of a month or two from normal bodily injuries) are caused by a lack of blood flow to muscles, creating oxygen deprivation, or in other words pain. The reason for this is because of deep seated emotional rage within the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind would rather distract the conscious mind from having to deal with the rage, via chronic pain that is attached to learned trigger points (in this case, trigger points as in events rather than the muscle trigger points previously described, although we'll see a connection between the two soon). So your mind is causing your pain, yes I said it. How can this be? Just remember, our subconscious mind is controlling all kinds of bodily functions under the surface,without our being aware of it. We don't need to think to breath, we don't don't think about blushing, and we don't think to grow (physically anyways). Essentially the mind will do something with the rage, so it transfers it to tense muscles, in the form of oxygen deprivation (lack of blood flow), that creates the chronic pain. Sarno even suggests that trigger points (as previously talked about in the above book) are just areas of centralized oxygen deprived muscle tissue. So to overcome, one must simply unlearn the pain and accept a new way of thinking about it. You can do that with this book. It's a most excellent book for RSI and related symptoms, even though the title is Healing Back Pain, and it has numerous raving reviews on Amazon. Sarno's work on TMS has many followers who swear by his method. If you believe in Mind Over Matter, then I highly recommend this book.

The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain.
5 Stars!
This is a later book by Sarno, also highly recommended. It covers basically the same things as Healing Back Pain, but with additional updated content. I felt that Healing Back Pain was worded a little better as a whole, and explained the concepts very well, whereas this book reiterates the theory while helping to sink in the ideas. You could still get by with either one. He has even a 3rd and most recent book, The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders, which I've yet to read so cannot comment on, but am looking forward to. If you're new to TMS though, I would definitely start with either The Mindbody Prescription or Healing Back Pain. Interestingly, probably due to it's great following, the TMS theory has inspired a TMS Wiki and Support Forum.