What is Repetitive Strain Injury?
The term RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) does not describe a single condition, but is actually a term that describes a large number of different conditions, all of which occur when a person does a repetitive task over a long period of time. If the RSI condition develops in the arm or hand of an employee, it could quite reasonably be referred to as a Work Related Upper Limb Disorder (WRULD): the more general term for many RSI conditions is "overuse injury".
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tennis Elbow, Tenosynovitis, Frozen Shoulder, and Writer's Cramp are all examples of RSI in the upper limbs. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Housemaids Knee may be the diagnosis given for RSI occurring in the back or the lower limbs. Muscles, tendons, nerves and other soft tissue of the body can be affected by RSI.
Another associated condition is 'Non-Specific Pain Syndrome': a more diffuse, less reproducible pain syndrome, which has sometimes caused those suffering from it to be labelled as shirkers or hysterical, or more kindly 'suffering from psychogenic pain'. Dr.'s Bruce Lynn and Jane Greening at the University College of London demonstrated in 1998 that the underlying cause of NSPS could actually be nerve damage that had resulted from occupational overuse.
People with RSI can experience many different symptoms in the affected areas: pain, numbness, tingling, burning, even muscle weakness and joint stiffness.
Incidences of RSI have been documented for at least 300 years, mainly in clerical-type work. The exact prevalence of these conditions is unclear. Up to one quarter of all workers in some industries may be affected at some level: workers operating computers may be most at risk. Permanent disability is the unfortunate outcome for some people with RSI.
Why do some people get RSI and others not?
The spine may hold the answer to the cause of RSI. Normal movements of the bones of the spine can be reduced if spinal subluxations (misalignments) are present. The result may be a greater amount of pressure on the nerves as they enter and leave the spinal column. This pressure interferes with normal function of the nerves: nerve signals do not travel properly through the nerve, and symptoms of tingling, numbness, weakness, stiffness or pain develop in the affected areas.
Is Chiropractic Care able to help?
Since it is subluxations that may be causing reduced spinal mobility and increased pressure on spinal nerves, the person who might be able to help is someone who has been trained to locate and treat your spinal subluxations: your chiropractor. Once these misalignments have been identified, chiropractic care can realign the vertebrae and allow normal nerve function to occur. In response to a course of chiropractic care, the symptoms experienced by a patient with RSI are commonly reduced or even disappear completely.
Symptoms of RSI: What Else Might Be Part Of The Picture?
Traditional chiropractic care sometimes doesn't provide RSI sufferers the long-term relief they seek. We have noticed that this can occur when another aspect of subluxation has not been effectively addressed. The missing piece of the puzzle may be nerve tension rather than nerve pressure. Where traditional chiropractic may struggle to relieve symptoms related to nerve tension, some chiropractors find that a technique known as Network Spinal Analysis is very helpful to relieve the effects of tension on spinal nerves.
Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) is an extremely gentle form of chiropractic care that does not use the cracking and crunching techniques that many traditional forms of chiropractic use. It is our experience that NSA is an effective way to assist many RSI sufferers to experience significant reduction of the symptoms associated with these conditions.
Reference 1. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 1998 Feb: 71 (1): 29-34 Vibration sense in the upper limb in patients with repetitive strain injury and a group of at-risk office workers Greening, J: Lynn, B. Physiology Department, University College London, England
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