{"id":85817,"date":"2014-12-15T06:30:18","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T12:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=85817"},"modified":"2014-12-14T21:34:39","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T03:34:39","slug":"repetitive-strain-injuries-are-a-real-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=85817","title":{"rendered":"Repetitive strain injuries are a real pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Holly Boyer<\/a>, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah<\/a>, Vermont<\/a>, Virginia<\/a>, West Virginia<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Repetitive strain injuries are a real pain<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"holly<\/a>I bet you use your computer a lot. Aside from all your work related computer use, you come home and\u00a0get right back on, don\u2019t you? Are you making sure that you\u2019re protecting yourself from injury? Or are\u00a0you already in pain and not exactly sure why?<\/p>\n

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a subject near and dear to my heart. Earlier this year I went through\u00a0carpal tunnel release surgery on both wrists, something I hope none of you ever need. Because of my\u00a0experiences with an RSI, I am more than a little vocal about things like ergonomics in the work place \u2013and became the ergonomics contact for my office group last year. Here are a 2 kinds of computer work\u00a0related RSIs and what you can do to prevent them.<\/p>\n

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome<\/a>. This is the granddaddy of computer work RSI, although anyone that uses\u00a0repetitive wrist\/hand motions can suffer from this. It is caused by the squeezing or pressing of the\u00a0median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the palm. The use of vibrating tools, hypothyroidism,\u00a0injury\/trauma to the wrist, work stress and increased work load, and pregnancy can all contribute to and\u00a0exacerbate carpal tunnel syndrome. In my personal experience, using a regular mouse was brutal. I was\u00a0working full time and earning a masters which basically meant I was using a computer all day, every day.<\/p>\n

Symptoms include:
\n\u2022 Burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand fingers, especially the thumb and\u00a0index and middle fingers.
\n\u2022 Often first appears at night.
\n\u2022 Decreased grip strength, difficulty in forming a fist, grasping small objects, performing manual\u00a0tasks
\n\u2022 Some people unable to tell the difference between hot and cold.
\n\u2022 In chronic cases, the muscles at the base of the thumb may waste away.<\/p>\n

What can you do to prevent it?
\n\u2022 Stretching<\/a> exercises<\/a>
\n\u2022 Frequent rest breaks (this<\/a> 20 20 20 rule works great)
\n\u2022 Wear splints to keep wrists straight
\n\u2022 Use correct posture<\/a> and wrist position
\n\u2022 Use ergonomic equipment\/workstation (I switch between left and right vertical mice<\/a> and use a\u00a0split keyboard<\/a>)
\n\u2022 Rotate work tasks so you\u2019re not doing the same thing for long periods of time<\/p>\n

Tennis elbow<\/a>. Now, this sounds like a strange injury for an office worker, as most of us aren\u2019t regularly\u00a0playing tennis at work. This is overworked tendons in the elbow caused by repeated contraction of the\u00a0forearm muscles used to straighten and raise hand and wrist. Repetitive arm, elbow, wrist, and hand\u00a0movements, such as playing tennis, golf, vacuuming, or even using a mouse can cause tennis elbow. Pain\u00a0radiates from outside of elbow into forearm and wrist. Pain and weakness makes it difficult to:
\n\u2022 Shake hands
\n\u2022 Turn a doorknob
\n\u2022 Hold a coffee cup<\/p>\n

Usually home treatments like rest, pain relievers, ice, working on technique and body positioning will\u00a0help.<\/p>\n

In addition to the 2 above, there are several other RSIs that affect computer workers:
\n\u2022 Cubital and radial tunnel syndromes<\/a>
\n\u2022 De Quervain syndrome<\/a> (or gamer\u2019s thumb)
\n\u2022 Thoracic outlet syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n

Ultimately, if you notice chronic issues that seem to be exacerbated by certain repetitive movements,\u00a0go see your doctor. I waited until I could barely use my hands and by that point my only option was\u00a0surgery. Don\u2019t be like me! Most of these RSIs can be resolved with rest, changing your work habits, and,\u00a0if necessary, physical therapy.<\/p>\n

Stay healthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia\u00a0 Repetitive strain injuries are a real pain I bet you use your computer a lot. Aside from all your work related computer use, you come home and\u00a0get right back on, don\u2019t you? Are you making sure that you\u2019re protecting yourself from injury? Or are\u00a0you…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":63826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,4131,5883,3651,3606,3663,3595,6717,5874,6718,6353],"class_list":["post-85817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-health","tag-holly-boyer","tag-inalj-utah","tag-inalj-vermont","tag-inalj-virginia","tag-inalj-west-virginia","tag-repetitive-strain-injury","tag-rest","tag-rsi","tag-taking-a-break"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/holly-boyer.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-mk9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}