Rating: 
Summary: Thorough, Practical, and Uniquely Entertaining
Review: As a chiropractor, I am all too familiar with traditional medicine's answer to repetitive stress injuries. Most treatments are palliative at best and do not address the longstanding soft tissue damage that precedes and underlies the person's symptoms. Damany and Bellis's observations are certainly consistent with what I see in daily practice, particularly that the recovery from RSI is always a process, not an event, just as its cause is a process.
I highly recommend the book to sufferers and health care providers alike.
Sincerely, Dr Vince Morson
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Damany and Bellis' work is distinguished from all other RSI books in three ways which make it indispensable:1. It takes a stand on the nature of RSI - i.e., that it's an entire upper body problem - and supports that view with lucid explanations.
2. It relates the only published, detailed case of an RSI sufferer who found great value in a mind-body approach.
3. It describes the only physical therapy approach that has provided consistent results. Few practitioners have any long term success stories, let alone consistent success. Every one of Damany's patients has improved significantly in a matter of months. The expertise behind her phenomenal success is conveyed in this outstanding book.
Rating:
Summary: You had me with the title!
Review: I got this great book as the result of a suggestion by a doctor. I was doing my internship to become a court reporter and sat in on her deposition as an expert witness. When she saw both the court reporter and me twisting our wrists during pauses in the deposition, she said, "There's a book you need to read, called 'It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.' I had found myself in the very scary situation of having put almost five years into learning the very difficult skill of court reporting and was getting very close to the speed level necessary to pass the rigorous speed test to get my license when I awoke one morning with my left arm feeling terribly weak and sprained. I had heard all the horror stories at school about students having to drop out of school just as they were getting ready to finish because of carpal tunnel syndrome. I thought my career had ended before it had even begun. Now that I have read this well-written and practical book, I know what I have to do now and for the rest of my career to stay healthy and "writing." There are also many great resources listed in the book and recommendations for products that may be helpful. Stamp out fear! Get this book and get moving!
Rating: 
Summary: Great for obsessive computer users
Review: I liked this book because it perfectly described my problem: obsessive computer use. I am a programmer who can easily spend all day and all night writing code. This book was written for that kind of user, and it helped me understand exactly what was causing my problem and what had to be done about it. If you hate your job and think that your boss is to blame for your condition, try another book. If you're a computer-using animal and have noticed that your hands or arms have started to go numb or weak - get this book *now*. The down side to this title are its amateurish computer models used to demonstrate exercise techniques.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on RSI by far
Review: I read "It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!" and all I can say is it's a great book. I've determined that my particular problem is that the ulnar nerve in my elbow is being pressed on because I'm constantly supporting my entire upper body by putting my elbows on the arm rests of my chair. This has caused serious irritation to the nerve and recently I've been waking up in the middle of the night because my pinky and part of my ring finger is numb. To anyone with RSI, I can't recommend the book strongly enough. It is by far the best book on the subject. I even gave my Doctor a copy of it because he, like most, is totally clueless about RSI. Even I knew I didn't have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after doing 5 minutes of research, yet that's all he kept talking about was Carpal Tunnel. Not once did he even attempt to address the root cause(s) of my problems ... he just wanted to give me anti-inflammatory drugs and told me to wear a brace. No thanks. This book really opened my eyes ... it should be mandatory reading for all Doctors.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed Reality About the Overall Problem
Review: I really enjoyed the voice and details of this book. It conveyed a much better understanding of the underlying problems to all the pain I was going through, repeatedly. Simply understanding the fact that I have to maintain my body, do things to help it repair itself from the damage I do to it on an everyday basis really helped me figure out what I had to do to be pain free. This book offers very clear, respectful advise and case studies. It shows that the symptoms can vary according to the severity of the cause and how people's bodies are built. No Instant Cure, no promises, but it does give a very useful, general approach to how to understand and manage the overall problems.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the subject!
Review: I've been acquiring and studying books on CTS, RSI, etc. like crazy for about nine months now and this is the best I have found. I did not expect to find anything as good as Sharon Butler's excellent Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries (which I also highly recommend) but this book really covers the subject thoroughly. And it is written from the perspective of how to heal yourself (which starts with education) rather than how to choose a surgeon, and other grim matters, which make a lot of other books on the subject scary to read. If you are having problems with your hands, get this book!
Rating:
Summary: best book out there
Review: I've just finished reading It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!, and I'd like to congratulate you on an immensely readable, reasonable, and informative book. I've been coping with computer-related repetitive strain injury for over ten years, with this progression of diagnoses: bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis, and thoracic outlet syndrome. I've also recently been diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture (more in the right hand than the left). Only voice-recognition software has allowed me to continue in my work as editor and writer. I helped start an RSI discussion group at the university where I work some years ago, though it's no longer active. It was quite a mix of people, both faculty and staff, all bright people, and all pretty seriously affected by RSI. Hands down, we felt Pascarelli and Quilter's book Repetitive Strain Injury: A Computer User's Guide was the best source of information we had. How I wish we'd also had It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! back then, too. It's the first book I recommend now. Again, thank you so much for your fine book.
Rating:
Summary: The first book about RSI you have to read
Review: If you suffer, like me, from a RSI, namely from PC overuse (although there's a lot of ways of acquiring this illnes, like knitting, playing golf, tennis or other repetitive motion) this is the book for you.
There are many books out there, and although I have not read them all, I have researched a lot about this illness and this is one of the best books to get. Filled with information about Computer acquired RSI, the authors go through every major detail about the illness: Posture, genetics, diet, work habits, ergonomic workstations, you name it, they have researched a lot.
Then book features a direct and easy language, nice B/W illustrations, and many sites for research all over the Web, which you can use to further your knowledge about RSI.
This book doesn't feature too many excersices, it is mainly informative, and the authors just give a few pointers and encourage the reader to find professional help.
Now the negative: There are a couple of things I did find somwhat odd in this book. After describing and defining RSI, and documenting how missunderstood this illness is by the medical community, they jump into their major recommendation: Go to a doctor and get a proffessional opinion. Well then you have to find a doctor versed in RSI, and not one that only want to operate, like they did on the many cases described in the book.
Second, I actually found a little offensive. They are quick to dissmiss any form of alternative therapy such as herbs, taking vitamn B6, homeophaty or even acupuncture regarding them as 'new agey' and not worth trying. To the mainstream or regular medical community, massages and physcal therapy like the authors suggest are also alternative. I have personally combined exercises with acupuncture and healthy eating habits plus suplemments, with good results.
In all, a great resource book, not many excersices but a lot of info, and we all know the best tool against any illness is information.
Buy it along with Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome : And Other Repetitive Strain Injuries by Sharon J. Butler and begin your journey towards recovery.
Peace and Health to you.
Rating:
Summary: Reader and carpal tunnel suferer
Review: This book is very imformative and helpful. I tried some of the exercises in the book and tried self massage with no real improvement. It was only after I saw a massage therapist who knew trigger point therapy and deep tissue massage that I begain to see relief. After 2 months of therapy and stretching exercises I am free of pain. I read this book several times and found the information helped me through the initial few weeks of therapy when I was getting discouraged. I discovered that I didn't have carpal tunnel after all just stressed knotted muscles which needed rest and massage therapy to get better. I highly recommend this book to any one who thinks they may have carpal tunnel syndrome.
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