Basic Information on Repetitive Strain Injury

Many people around the world are getting affected to repetitive strain injury. It is fast becoming an epidemic; many people are wandering around with aching shoulders, tense hands and cramp in the wrist, but what is making this epidemic happen.

Actually, repetitive strain injury is a condition caused by repetitive activities. By repetitive activities, you stress the area of your body carrying out the movement to the point where it becomes tense, painful and your movement becomes restricted.

Tennis elbow or golfers elbow are the common forms of repetitive strain injury, but many different hobbies, sports and jobs can cause repetitive strain injury like dress makers from sewing, electricians from using screw drivers and musicians from playing their instruments for long periods of time.

Causes of Repetitive Strain Injury

The advent of the computer has caused a dramatic rise in cases of repetitive strain injury; many people are finding themselves suffering with pain in the wrists that builds up over time.

Excessive computer usage in front of their monitors at work before traveling home, and spending hours and hours talking to their friends on instant messaging programs and social network websites is the main problem of this computer age.

When people use their computers they do not realize that unless they sit with the perfect posture and their arms and wrists supported in the proper way they can cause a lot of damage.

• The first mistake many people make is being hunched over a small desk that has not been poorly positioned, with their chairs to low down so their wrists are lying on thin air.
• The second mistake people make is sitting for long periods of time without taking regular breaks. You can give your body time to relax by taking regular breaks.
• The third and final mistake is to carry on working while feeling stressed. Stress can make your muscles tense, which increases the possibilities of getting repetitive strain injury.

Prevention Tips

• Assess the workstation and seating arrangements before using your PC to make sure it fulfils the need to support your body appropriately.
• Take a short break for every 20 to 30 minutes, it gives your body time to relax, even if it’s just to stretch your legs or get a glass of water.
• Use wrist supports. There are many different types of wrist supports on the market that are inexpensive; especially when you think about what it can do for your health.
• It may sound silly as your not running a marathon, but why not trying some simple stretches and warm up exercises so your muscles are warm, loose and ready for the typing ahead.

Repetitive Strain Injury Treatment

A heavy dose of rest and non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs are most often prescribed in order to treat most cases of repetitive strain injury. By allowing the injury some time to mend, many of the problems are negated.

Surgery may be necessary for treating advanced cases of repetitive strain injury that cannot be treated with rest and NSAIDs. Many of the surgeries that are performed for repetitive strain injury are quickly performed as an outpatient procedure with high levels of success.

If you think that you have a case of a repetitive strain injury, you should cease any and all activities that could aggravate the injury. In addition, you should speak to a health care professional as soon as possible so that they can diagnose the severity of the injury.

The longer that you wait before you take care of a problem with a repetitive strain injury, the more recovery time it will take for you to heal and the harder it will be to overcome. For that reason, it is imperative that you take the necessary actions to protect yourself by speaking to a doctor immediately.