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Overuse injuries occur when a repetitive motion begins to cause discomfort, without one traumatic event occurring. Usually, these disorders have an insidious onset and slowly increase over time, and seem to improve with rest. These types of injuries can occur with muscles, tendons/ligaments, bone or nerves in every joint in the body. Repetition of certain movements or postures creates increased stress, or load, on the body. Below are a few examples of overuse injuries:
The first signs of an overuse injury may be soreness, tingling or discomfort in the neck, arms, wrists, fingers or shoulders. These symptoms may come on when you do something or appear afterwards. They may disappear when you stop the activity that brought them on. It may take only a few hours for the symptoms to go away, or it may take as long as a couple of days. If it isn’t treated successfully, RSI can turn into a chronic pain problem.
Overusing your body is the main cause of repetitive strain injury. Contributing factors include:
The underlying cause common to all RSI-type conditions is damage to muscles and tendons (and the nerves that run through them) through repeated micro-trauma. Whenever muscles are used, tiny tears can occur in muscle tissue. The local area becomes inflamed for a short time as the body attempts to repair the damage.
Without enough rest for the damaged area to be repaired fully, more activity causes further damage and more inflammation, thickening, scar tissue and pain. Nerves are also damaged by RSI. Tingling feelings are caused by the compression of nerves. Nerves run through muscles, and if muscle health is poor, so is nerve health. Damaged nerves can heal but the process is extremely slow.
Start your journey to better well-being by seeking an evaluation from one of our physical therapists at the Hobson Institute. We specialize in assessing daily movements that may lead to overuse injuries and can teach you strategies to reduce repetitive motions or safely increase activity to prevent these stress injuries. Our approach includes strengthening surrounding areas and reducing inflammation in affected joints through physical therapy.
One common area prone to overuse is the head and neck muscles, often due to poor computer posture and mouse usage. We’ll guide you in achieving a safer, more neutral body position to relieve strain on these overloaded muscles and joints. Our tailored approach incorporates a carefully graded strengthening exercise program, manual therapy, massage, dry needling, gentle stretching exercises, osteopathy, and breathing exercises to address your specific needs.
Heat, ice, ultrasound, electrical stimulation or athletic taping may be part of your physical therapy program as well. Your physical therapist can also provide advice on the use of braces, orthotics and assistive devices. Your physical therapist will also work with you to create a comprehensive home exercise program that will help you maintain your quality of life beyond your therapy sessions.
Find a good doctor, one who is both knowledgeable with overuse and repetitive strain injuries which may or may not be the GP you normally use.
Come see us at the Hobson Institute to get someone on one care to help eliminate the repetitive activities that you may not realize you are doing and get the care you need to alleviate your joint and muscle pain.
Try to get some time away from work, as rest can cure the injury in the early stages. At the same time, get as much exercise you can – walking, running, cycling, anything that gets your blood flowing.
Have a really good look at your workstation and try to decide what needs fixing. Do you have the right desk, keyboard and monitor setup? Are you working too hard? Are you stressed at work? Do you get regular breaks?
Take this injury seriously – many people end up permanently injured.
Contact us to make an appointment with one of our clinicians today.
