Thousands of people are diagnosed with a repetitive strain or stress injury yearly. A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a term for pain triggered by frequent movement of a part of the body. The most common areas of the body to get this type of injury include the elbows, shoulder, forearms, wrists, hands, and fingers.
Thankfully, most repetitive strain injuries get better on their own in time. However, there are some things you can do to prevent them from re-occurring and to manage your condition, including the things we’ve listed below:
1. Use Both Hands
One of the best tips we can give you is to use both hands. Repetitive strain injuries often occur because we continually use the same hand or arm to perform tasks. This puts a lot of pressure on that body part. To try and ease this pressure, use both arms and hands to complete tasks.
2. Pay Attention to How You Use a Computer
Keep your wrists straight and flat when typing on a computer to prevent an RSI. As well as this, it’s essential to sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor, thighs level, and shoulders relaxed.
3. Stretch Every Day
Stretching can help to manage and prevent an RSI. One of the best stretches to do is the prayer stretch. This involves putting the palms of your hands together with your fingers pointing to the ceiling; push to one side and then the other for 30 seconds at a time. If stretches do not improve your injury, seek professional advice from a physio.
4. Visit a Physio
A professional physiotherapist can give you some exercises that will help strengthen your muscles and joints. This will not only help improve the injury, but it can also help prevent another injury from occurring in the future.
5. Take Medication
As mentioned above, repetitive strain injuries can be painful. You could consider taking painkillers or anti-inflammatory medication until your pain starts to ease. Another option is to put ice packs on your injury. This can help to reduce any swelling.
6. Rest
One of the best ways to treat a repetitive strain injury is to rest the area of the body that is injured. While this may be true, resting is often easier said than done. Most of us can’t afford to take time off work until our body has healed.
However, if your injury occurred at work, you may be entitled to compensation from your employer. This money can be used to pay your bills until you are fit enough to return to work. Repetitive stress injuries attorneys will tell you whether you can claim compensation.
A repetitive strain injury can be an excruciating injury to have. However, thankfully, you can do several things to prevent and manage a repetitive strain injury to reduce your chances of it re-occurring in the future. If you’ve got a repetitive strain injury, then make sure you follow our tips above.
