Repetitive Use Injuries

patient handout

as assembly-line workers, stock clerks, ware- enjoy doing. Here are six simple hand exercises house workers, transcriptionists and garment that will move your joints, stretch your tendons workers are at risk. Also, people who work as and keep your hands healthy: gardeners, bank tellers, musicians and even athletes should be aware of RSIs. 1. Place both hands in front of you and stretch your fingers out, keeping them up and open Do I Have an RSI? for a few seconds. These injuries are more than just a sore wrist or aching fingers. Overuse and misuse of the 2. Keep both of your hands in front of you and hand can lead to serious injuries. You should curl your fingers and thumb into a ball.H old be aware of the following injuries and take pre- this position a few seconds. ventative measure to avoid them: 3. Put your arms in front of you and lift your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This compression right hand so that the palm of your hand of the median nerve through the carpal tunnel, points out and your fingers face up. Using located at the base of the hand, causes numbness your other hand, push the fingers towards e take medicine to improve blood and tingling of the fingers, weakness and pain. your body until you feel a slight stretch. pressure. We try to eat foods that Repeat with the other hand. will decrease our cholesterol. DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis: This RSI is local- And we exercise to keep our ized to the tendons of the thumb at the level of 4. Hold your arms out in front of you and point Wheart healthy. But we take a certain part of the the wrist. It is most commonly caused by side- your right hand down. You should be staring at body for granted: our hands. ways movement of the wrist with the thumb your wrist. Place your other hand on the knuck- Our hands do everything for us – open jars, take stabilized in a gripping position. les of the hand pointing down and put a little out the garbage, sign documents – everything. pressure until you feel a slight stretch to the top We use our hands from the minute we wake up Epicondylitis: Don’t forget that the way you of the wrist. Change hands and repeat. to the minute we go to sleep, yet we do not even use your hands can affect other parts of the consider the consequences of our actions. arm. This is an overuse syndrome resulting in 5. Hold one hand with the palm up and use Repetitive strain injury (RSI) refers to a cat- an inflammatory response of the tendon on the other hand to gently massage. Be sure egory of injuries involving muscle, tendon and the inside or the outside of the elbow. It’s also to work the inside, outside and in between nerve damage caused by overuse and misuse. known as golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. the fingers. Repeat with the other hand. This may include performing repetitive tasks, working in or sustaining an awkward position, Tendonitis/Tenosynovitis Tendonitis/Ten- 6. Lace your fingers and with the palms facing forceful exertions, and insufficient rest time. osynovitis: All involving an inflammation of away from you, gently stretch your arms out the tendon or of the sheath surrounding the straight. n Who Is at Risk? tendon, these injuries can occur in the hand, RSIs are more common than you think and are wrist, forearm or shoulder. Lauren Himiak is a freelance writer for ADVANCE beginning to affect people at a much earlier age. With social medias like Facebook and Twit- Trigger Finger/Thumb: The finger will lock or NOTES: ter gaining popularity, younger generations are click when bent or straightened if the tendon or using their hands more and more by typing on tendon sheath in the palm becomes to thick. a computer and texting. Although computers and cell phones have provided society with Can I Prevent an RSI? numerous benefits, extended use can cause To avoid all of these injuries, it is important to problems like RSIs. think about how much you use your hands and A person’s profession is also a risk factor start taking preventative measures today. Sim- when it comes to RSIs. Besides anyone who ple daily exercises will decrease your chances of works on a computer all day, those who work strain and allow more time for the things you

Disclaimer: This handout is a general guide only, intended for distribution to patients. If you have specific questions, ADVANCE ® AN C E