If you are engaged in a job requiring repetitive motions in excessive and prolonged levels, you are making yourself vulnerable to exhaustion and stress. Such stress may be mental or physical. The best way to deal with this type of job is to get away from it. But then, some circumstances may give you no choice other than embracing your current job for economic or other personal reasons.
If allowed to go on for too long, you may eventually suffer from repetitive stress injury (RSI or repetitive strain injury). This condition happens when muscles in certain body areas are kept tense for very long durations because of repetitive motions and/or poor posture. RSI is actually the general term or condition when any of a loose group of conditions brought upon by excessive use of tools such as guitar, the computer, or knife – and the accompanying motions necessary for using any of them.
Some RSI symptoms include:
– tenderness in your muscles or joints
– stiffness
– throbbing
– tingling or numbness
– weakness
– cramp
If a repetitive task cannot be avoided or your work necessitates for it, you may follow some practical adjustments to avoid RSI. These adjustments include break at ideally after every hour or so – let your affected muscles, tendons and nerves relax at regular intervals. While doing a monotonous activity, make sure that you are always in proper posture. By consulting a nutritionist or fitness expert, you can also load up on nutrients that are essential for healthy muscles.
If the RSI gets severe and oftener, you may have to consider undergoing an occupational therapy. Great Lakes Orthopedics & Sports Medicine utilizes a holistic approach to achieve the fullest effect of the therapy.
For more inquiries, please contact us at (219) 365-0220 or via this page.
