If you’ve been feeling an aching sensation, stiffness, tingling, numbness and weakness, as well as reduced joint mobility, in your upper body (hands, wrists, shoulders and arms), it may be that you’re experiencing some kind of repetitive strain injury (RSI), a condition that manifests as a result of doing repetitive movements… hence the name.
It can affect your nerves, joints, tendons and muscles, leading to pain and loss of strength, with causes including using a computer a lot, playing sports like tennis or golf, poor posture, vibrating equipment or not taking enough breaks when carrying out certain activities.
There are lots of ways in which you can ease your symptoms at home, such as taking a break from what you’re doing, using hot and cold therapies, and taking painkillers, but if your symptoms persist or get worse over time, you may want to seek professional medical advice.
One of the best ways to address RSI is to see a physiotherapist. Working with your physio, you’ll be able to help restore mobility and function in the affected parts of your body. Keeping as active as possible is generally advisable and your physio will be able to help you do this while keeping pain to a minimum.
The aim is to improve tight muscles and help mobilise your joints, as well as focusing on other aspects such as posture and nerve mobility. Depending on the root cause, you may be asked to demonstrate how you sit at your desk or how you work so changes can be implemented to address the situation.
Various treatment plans are available depending on your symptoms and the cause, including massage, acupuncture, joint mobilisation, electrotherapy, ergonomics, taping and so on.
If you’d like to find out more about RSI and what can be done to treat it, get in touch with the Clear Physio team today to see how we can help.
