What Do We Know About Repetitive Strain Injury?
Repetitive strain injury, otherwise known as work related upper limb disorder, affects people in different ways, many feel pain, and this comes in the form of aches or shooting pains around the area of damage.
Repetitive strain injury is actually not a condition as such, it is a term given to a group of specific conditions that are all related in some form and most patients suffer with more than one of these conditions at a time.
The different conditions that make up repetitive strain injury are
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
- DeQuervains Syndrome
- Intersection Syndrome
- Stenosing Tenosynovitis
- Tendonitis
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Repetitive strain injury (known as R.S.I) is an occupational overuse syndrome that affects muscles, nerves, tendons and blood vessels mainly in the back, arms, wrists and hands. The condition is found in people who carry out the same movement repetitively in their profession or sport like those who work on an assembly line or play tennis.
Because repetitive strain injury is an occupational overuse syndrome it also has another name called work related upper limb disorder, or WRULD.
There are a few warning signs for those who are in a position where they are at risk of R.S.I, these warning signs are
- Soreness and pain in the neck, back, shoulders, arms, wrists or hands.
- Numbness or loss of sensation.
- A lack of strength and easily fatigued.
- A lack of movement
There are ways to help prevent repetitive strain injury from occurring, they may seem like simple prevention techniques but they are important in making sure you don’t suffer with this condition.
The best prevention techniques are
- Take regular breaks, even if you work in an office at a computer.
- If you feel pain, stop what you are doing and rest until it subsides.
- Watch your posture, bad posture can have detrimental affects and cause R.S.I.
- Keep fit, keeping in shape increases your bodies strength and fitness, which means your tendons, muscles and blood vessels can handle more.
- Learn muscle relaxation and stress busting techniques, if your muscles are tight then you are more likely to gain repetitive strain injury.
There is a lot of different treatments available for R.S.I sufferers, all are fairly easy treatments and have different levels of success.
Deep muscle massage – This is not your normal massage, this works deep into the tissue to really work all the knots and tension within your muscles.
Soft tissue therapy – This treatment works by decompressing the troubled area, this works well for R.S.I patients because the reason they have repetitive strain injury is normally due to a compressed tendon.
Pain relief – for some people simple pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication can alleviate the symptoms they have, long enough for the condition to be resolved.
Occupational therapy – An occupational therapist can look at the injured part of the body and provide exercises that can alleviate the condition while promoting strength and flexibility.
One thing you have to remember if you are suffering with repetitive strain injury is to rest the affected area, even when the pain has subsided it does not mean that the area has fully recovered.
