Ergonomic Issues and Products Blog

Archive for May, 2009

What Exactly is a Repetitive Stress Injury?

In addition to neck pain, back pain and headaches, my San Diego chiropractic office provides treatment for many patients with various types of repetitive stress injuries.  This post will carry on from the prior post and will describe what repetitive stress injuries are.
A Repetitive Stress Injury is a kind of catch all phrase for many conditions.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tenosynovitis / DeQuervain’s Syndrome, Tendonitis, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Trigger Finger, Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Chronic Sprain / Strain are some of the actual diagnosis that are rendered in my office.  All of these conditions are serious and in many cases can cause great pain, permanent disability and sometimes loss of employment.
Repetitive Stress Injuries occur from repetitive movements involving a specific set of muscles and joints.  RSI injuries are the result of an accumulation of stress and strain that causes irritation, inflammation, and eventually pain or other disability.  A good analogy used to characterize the onset of RSI would be the “straws on the camels back” saying.
Initially, RSI affects the soft tissues of the involved joint(s).  Soft tissues include muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons.  However, if left untreated for long periods of time, the involved joint can become arthritic and form bone spurs resulting in permanent damage to the joint.
While various occupations ranging from meat cutters to construction workers develop RSIs that result from the typical duties of their professions, the most frequent cause of these injuries involve computer work.  The constant demand of keyboarding and mousing combined with the postural stress of confinement in an office chair with one’s neck and back held in prolonged fixed positions has resulted in an epidemic of injuries that includes hand pain, wrist pain, arm pain, neck pain, back pain and shoulder pain.
I hope that you are finding this information helpful.  My next post will continue this series and will describe the basics of workstation ergonomic set-ups.

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Here’s To Your Health

Yours Ergonomically,

Dr. Jones

Economic Mouse Pad
San Diego Chiropractic
Pain Relief San Diego Chiropractic

(619) 280-0554