Repetitive Strain Injury, Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)

Repetitive Stress Injuries Plague the Manufacturing and Customer Service Based Industries. RSI's cost US employers on average over 1 billion U S Dollars per year. Current estimates suggest that repetitive strain injury (RSI) conditions cost UK industry between £5bn and £20bn every year.

Symptoms of RSI can include numbness, swelling, pain, stiffness, weakness or tingling in the shoulders, back, neck, hands, wrists, elbows and lower limbs. Typically, discomfort brought on by a particular task will improve when it is stopped i.e. if the pain lessens or disappears over weekends or during holidays. If the discomfort begins in one area but then spreads to other parts of the body this may manifest as sore shoulders, neck pain, stiffness in the limbs and hands. The earlier RSI is detected, the greater the likelihood that the condition can be reversed or symptoms can be eased.

If you have been diagnosed with RSI, the typical treatment is to rest the limb from aggravating factors (especially the task(s) that incited the condition). Your physician may also recommend painkillers/anti-inflammatories, physiotherapy, massage, ultrasound or even surgery in some cases. Constant ultrasound treatment (2 to 3 times daily) over a couple weeks during this phase is often very helpful in speeding recovery or as an alternative to avoiding surgery. Ultrasound is making inroads into business, mostly at the prodding of company therapists, and proven success in other companies that have made it a large part of their therapy programs. Ultrasound drops the cost of RSI dramatically, as both a preventative and as part of an RSI treatment program.