Preventing a repetitive stress injury
Repetitive stress injuries can be devastating to productivity. Repetitive stress injuries are most often the result of occupational overuse of a limb or a muscle. While most of the repetitive stress injuries can be successfully treated, it is much easier to head off the problem at the pass by taking some preventative measures in order to lessen your chances of developing one. In this article, we’ll address some of the ways that you can limit your susceptibility to a repetitive stress injury.
It’s a proven fact that most repetitive stress injuries occur in the neck and the back. One preventative measure that you may want to consider taking in order to limit your susceptibility to neck and back repetitive stress injuries is to ensure that you don’t cradle the telephone in between your ear and your shoulder.
When you’re making a repetitive motion in the work place or recreationally, and your body begins to ache, be sure to take a simple time out in order to relax and stretch the muscles that may be at risk.
You should pay particular attention to your posture when you are performing any sort of physical movement. If your posture is incorrect, you are more likely to be placing a strain on your body which can cause a repetitive strain injury to develop. Be sure that you keep your head tilted up, with your ears straight over your shoulders, which are over your hips, over your ankles. Pay particular attention to posture guides in order to eliminate any possible snags in your posture.
If you tend to experience similar symptoms of pain every time you indulge in an activity such as going on the computer, you should speak to your doctor immediately. Repetitive stress injuries are degenerative and so it’s important to treat them as soon as possible. In early cases of repetitive strain injuries, the problem can be negated simply by resting and taking non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs to contain the problem.
Keeping your muscles in shape can be a great measure to take to prevent recurrence of repetitive stress injuries. Be sure to undergo stretching for the areas that you use often in order to keep the tendons and muscles in shape.
Working in a cold environment can be counteractive to your body’s muscles and tendons. If you are using a muscle group regularly, be sure to keep it warm in order to eliminate cramps and lessen the possibility of occurrence for a repetitive stress injury.
For office work, be sure to take a few minutes a day to walk around and give your wrists and hands a break from the monotonous act of working on a computer or a typewriter. Just a few minutes can make the difference between developing an RSI and not developing it.
Now that you know more about the steps that you can take to prevent a repetitive stress injury, you can be better prepared for dealing with the problem if it occurs. Additionally, you can lessen the chance of developing the problems in the first place.