I initially went in because my wrist was hurting when I coded all day, sometimes shooting up my forearm. At the first appointment, they had me put my thumb inside my fist, and try to move my hand down (Finkelstein's test) - I had no motion and lots of pain, so the diagnosis was easy - DeQuervain's syndrome... totally different than carpal tunnel, but still an RSI coders get. For most people, it heals easily, but not in all cases:

We went through the standard steps for this problem - rest, ergonomic changes, a cortisone shot, then physical therapy. Nothing worked, so I consulted a surgeon, who gave me an additional shot with more expertise in exactly where to give it. That actually helped for 6 months, but when I called back after the pain recurred, they said surgery is the last resort, but also the best option in my specific case, as it is a simple fix and almost always works. During the surgery, they found that my tendon sheaths were bisected, leaving less room than normal for movement through the wrist.

As far as the pain, it was very focused on the side of my wrist at the base of my thumb, in particular when moving the hand to the outside of the wrist.

All that being said, the bigger lesson I got from it all is that not all RSI pain is the same problem. Hand specialists know how to tell the difference between all the problems and can give you guidance on which treatment will help. At the same time, general practitioners do not have the same level of knowledge, and may waste your time running you through treatments that won't work. So if you are having problems... ask a hand/wrist specialist for help.