Massage Therapy and Repetitive Strain Injuries

There is no question that traditional therapy is the greatest option for those struggling with a Repetitive Strain Injury. From Trigger Finger to Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, conservative therapy generates the best results, limited side effects (if any), faster results and long-lasting relief.

There are many types of traditional remedies that provide various positive benefits to an individual. Massage Therapy is a good conservative treatment that provides great results on its own, and even better results when combined with a stretch and exercises.

Massage is used to help you relax and lengthen firm, restrictive muscles, break down scar tissue in damaged muscles, reduce adhesions on affected tendons at their point of attachment to the muscle or to the bone, remove toxins from muscle tissues and increase overall circulation and nutrient delivery towards the associated tissues. All of these wonderful benefits help overworked muscles to be able to relax and injured muscles to get better. The problem is this. Massage Therapy does not correct the muscle instability causing the Repetitive Strain Injury. Massage Therapy can drastically aid the rehabilitation or treatment process, but when a muscle has been injured and has atrophied to any significant degree, or a muscle has gone into a state of chronic hypertonicity, other therapeutic elements has to be added to the treatment regimen so as to completely get rid of the Repetitive Strain Injury.

An integral part of Repetitive Strain Injury treatment would be the implementation of a stretch and exercise routine specifically designed to develop structural integrity and muscle balance where the injury exists. If the injury is Tennis Elbow, there must be an equality of strength between the wrist and elbow flexors, wrist and elbow extensors, and wrist and forearm pronators and supinators. By creating strong flexible muscles surrounding the particular joint, that joint will no longer be highly susceptible to Repetitive Strain Injuries.

The integration of Massage therapy, stretches, exercises and hydrotherapy is a highly effective treatment protocol for various kinds of injuries. An example of a therapy sequence for a 'chronic injury', no matter the affected area, should follow along these lines:

Hydrotherapy Heat - Heat to enhance circulation to the area, making the soft tissue relaxed and flexible.

Massage Phase-I - Specific massage treatment utilizing Trigger Point Release techniques to release muscle spasm as well as Transverse Friction Massage to break down adhesions.

Stretch - Stretch excessively restrictive tissues to increase their length and reduce their compression of underlying tissues.

Exercise - Execute conditioning exercises for the affected tissues so as to lessen tensile strain around the injured area, heal micro-tears and increase healing nutrients to the injured area. Strong muscles create stability which will help prevent upcoming recurrence of micro-tears to a formerly affected region.

Massage Phase-II - Perform light Petrissage and Effleurage towards the heart to get rid of the toxins created from undergoing Trigger Point Release, Transverse Friction Massage, stretches and exercises.

Hydrotherapy Cold - Cool the injured tissues in an elongated position as to not lose range-of-motion (ROM) on the affected tissues and to further get rid of toxins from the area.

Massage Therapy and the involvement of the techniques listed above work well in eliminating chronic Repetitive Strain Injuries. Any one element by itself is OK, but by applying several sound conservative techniques, the success rate of the treatment grows dramatically.

What Exactly Is Repetitive Strain Injury?

The question of just what repetitive strain injury (RSI) is one which many people may not know to ask. An RSI is not a thing that happens instantly like a cut or broken bone. RSI's occur over time, and you may not even realize you are getting injured until it's way too late.

Repetitive Strain Injury would be the blanket term given to any injury that is caused by a repetitive motion that is performed over time. These injuries normally occur in or round the joints of a person's body. The pain from the injury will most likely begin to reveal as inflammation from the joint that is carrying out the movement.

The medical definition regarding Repetitive Strain Injury is an injury of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems which might be caused by repetitive duties, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression (pressing against hard surfaces), or continual or awkward positions.

Repetitive Strain Injury is additionally known by many other names that could be familiar to you: Repetitive Stress Injury, Repetitive Motion Injury, Repetitive Motion Disorder, Cumulative Trauma Disorder, Occupational Overuse Syndrome, Overuse Syndrome, and Regional Musculoskeletal Disorder.

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) might be caused by any action (static or dynamic) that's done with uniform repetition on an extended period of time on a regular basis. Which means that the activity can range from turning a wrench the same direction all day to just sitting in an uncomfortable position for an extended period of time. The key ingredient to every cause is the repetition. Turning a wrench a few different times won't result in RSI. Even turning a wrench exactly the same direction all day won't cause RSI. However, turning a wrench the same direction all day for a couple months can definitely lead to RSI.

Most Repetitive Strain Injuries will be able to heal themselves as long as there may be ample rest given once the RSI begins. The longer an RSI goes without receiving time for it to heal the more hard it'll be to treat the personal injury. If an RSI goes neglected it may persist for years whilst progressively getting worse. This leads to many injuries which may have surgery as the only possible remedy.

The most common treatment that's prescribed for Repetitive Strain Injuries is rest. The injured area must be given the opportunity to heal by itself. In addition to rest other treatments that are commonly suggested are exercise, braces, and massage.

Pain medications can be taken to eliminate the discomfort. The problem with this approach, however, is that the pain will hide the RSI symptoms leading the affected person to return too early to activities that caused the injury.

Other treatments are actually preventative measures that should have been taken prior to the injury occurred, but will also aid treating the injury after the person returns to the activity that was the initial cause. These include ergonomic factors and exercise.

Sometimes learning to deal with the pain is the greatest treatment. If the injury causes such a disruption in a person's life that it's worse than the injury itself then learning to deal with the pain might be the best answer. This way the affected person can resume their day-to-day activities providing they understand how to avoid making the injury worse.

Ways For Treating Repetitive Stress Syndrome

As an employee, it is likely you spend most of your worktime at your office. Within this role you've got a set of tasks you must perform so as to further your goals and achieve the steps needed towards the success of your organization. As you take actions to do this it is very important remember that your office and your line of work holds the potential to cause you harm. While there are many accidents and injuries that befall workers each year, one particularly drawn out and painful injury are those brought on by repetitive motion.

Tips for Treating Repetitive Stress Syndrome

Repetitive stress injuries can be caused in a number of ways and they also typically occur in a person's joints and muscles and when left untreated they could become permanently debilitating. If you feel you are enduring a repetitive motion injury there are numerous of important steps you can take to aide in your recovery. These include:

• Elevate your hurting joints and avoid stressing them to be able to reduce swelling
• For pain relief apply ice to sore joints and muscles, but for no greater than 30 minutes at a time
• If you have tendonitis you may use ice and then later apply a heating pad to alleviate the pain
• If the pain is severe it is important to seek medical attention
• Practice range of motion exercises after you have recovered in order to avoid future injuries
• If you cannot keep off the joint, wear protective bandages tightly around the joint and take pain relief medicine

For More Information

Injuries can happen to workers at any time. The workplace, where individuals spend most of their day, can be a really dangerous place. Visit repetitive strain injury treatment to learn about RSI and share the awareness.

Repetitive Stress Injury - Exactly How It Happens

Repetitive stress injury (RSI) is actually a cumulative trauma disorder resulting from repetitive tasks, such as clicking the mouse, or typing keys. It can damage hands and wrists, muscles, tendons, nerves and cause some weakness, pain, numbness and loss of motor control. We identify many modern day jobs as having repetitive stress injury, but truly any career (even professional pianists) has the potential to cause RSI to employees, depending on the nature of the work. Examples of repetitive stress injuries could be neck pain due to reading books while looking down, shoulder strain from transporting heavy laptops or luggage, cradling a phone in between neck and shoulder resulting in pinched nerve and numbness, or pain in your wrists from typing on the keyboard.

People who experiences this kind of injury often complain of bursts of pain that worsen with activity, often resulting in weakness, lack of endurance as well as numbness, or muscle spasm. The most common areas to be affected are the eyes, the neck, the back and the wrists/hands.

In order to minimize the impact from the injury on employees, a program of ergonomics must be implemented. Employees should be encouraged to work with proper posture, take frequent breaks as well as disengage from certain tasks for a short time to avoid obtaining or perhaps exacerbating a repetitive stress injury. Often, people can be taught better approaches for data entry and computer use that limits their exposure to repetitive stress injuries.

RSIs often will deal with themselves with care and the use of proper posture, techniques and frequent pauses; however some RSIs could get worse and require surgical intervention for relief.

Additionally, workers who exercise often minimize their experience of repetitive stress injury, so exercise and frequent breaks where exercise is encouraged is often beneficial and wise. Having a healthy, active lifestyle that seeks to address stress and weight management is another approach that can minimize the effects from the said injury.

If you feel you've got a stress injury, be sure to let your employer be aware of your problem and have a referral for medical treatment. Often, employers will permit you to purchase ergonomic keyboards and office furniture from office supply to keep incidences of this injury to a minimum.

Help your co-workers or employers be aware of RSI and how you can help prevent it. Visit RepetitiveStrain-Injury for more details.