Repetitive strain injury

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A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an "injury to the musculoskeletal and nervous systems that may be caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained or awkward positions."[1] RSIs are also known as cumulative trauma disorders, repetitive stress injuries, repetitive motion injuries or disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and occupational or sports overuse syndromes.

Definition

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) and associative trauma orders are umbrella terms used to refer to several discrete conditions that can be associated with repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained/awkward positions.[1][2] Examples of conditions that may sometimes be attributed to such causes include edema, tendinosis (or less often tendinitis), carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, De Quervain syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, intersection syndrome, golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis), tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), trigger finger (so-called stenosing tenosynovitis), radial tunnel syndrome, and focal dystonia.[1][2][3]

Since the 1970s there has been a worldwide increase in RSIs of the arms, hands, neck, and shoulder attributed to the widespread use of typewriters/computers in the workplace that require long periods of repetitive motions in a fixed posture.[4]

Popular terms

Specific sources of discomfort have been popularly referred to by terms such as Blackberry thumb, iPod finger, PlayStation thumb,[5] Rubik's wrist or "cuber's thumb",[6] stylus finger,[7] raver's wrist,[8] and Emacs pinky, among others.

Diagnosis

RSIs are assessed using a number of objective clinical measures. These include effort-based tests such as grip and pinch strength, diagnostic tests such as Finkelstein's test for Dequervain's tendinitis, Phalen's Contortion, Tinel's Percussion for carpal tunnel syndrome, and nerve conduction velocity tests that show nerve compression in the wrist. Various imaging techniques can also be used to show nerve compression such as x-ray for the wrist, and MRI for the thoracic outlet and cervico-brachial areas.

Treatment

Ergonomics: the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace

The most-often prescribed treatments for early-stage RSIs include analgesics, myofeedback, biofeedback, physical therapy, relaxation, and ultrasound therapy.[3] Low-grade RSIs can sometimes resolve themselves if treatments begin shortly after the onset of symptoms. However, some RSIs may require more aggressive intervention including surgery and can persist for years.

General exercise has been shown to decrease the risk of developing RSI.[9] Doctors sometimes recommend that RSI sufferers engage in specific strengthening exercises, for example to improve sitting posture, reduce excessive kyphosis, and potentially thoracic outlet syndrome.[10] Modifications of posture and arm use (human factors and ergonomics) are often recommended.[3][11]

History

Although seemingly a modern phenomenon, RSIs have long been documented in the medical literature. In 1700, the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini first described RSI in more than 20 categories of industrial workers in Italy, including musicians and clerks.[12] Carpal tunnel syndrome was first identified by the British surgeon James Paget in 1854.[13] The Swiss surgeon Fritz de Quervain first identified De Quervain’s tendinitis in Swiss factory workers in 1895.[14] The French neurologist Jules Tinel (1879–1952) developed his percussion test for compression of the median nerve in 1900.[15][16][17] The American surgeon George Phalen improved the understanding of the aetiology of carpal tunnel syndrome with his clinical experience of several hundred patients during the 1950s and 1960s.[18]

See also

Notes

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Program of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Raver’s Wrist
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Carolyn Kisner & Lyn Allen Colby, Therapeutic Exercise: Foundations and Techniques, at 473 (5th Ed. 2007).
  11. ↑ Berkeley Lab. Integrated Safety Management: Ergonomics. Website. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  12. ↑ Ramazzini, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers), Modena, 1700.
  13. ↑ Pearce JM (April 2009). "James Paget's median nerve compression (Putnam's acroparaesthesia)". Pract Neurol 9 (2): 96–9.
  14. ↑ Ahuja NK, Chung KC, "Fritz de Quervain, MD (1868–1940): stenosing tendovaginitis at the radial styloid process", J Hand Surg., vol.29 #6 pp. 1164–70.
  15. ↑ Tinel, J., “Nerve wounds” London: Baillère, Tindall and Cox, 1917
  16. ↑ Tinel, J., ‘’Le signe du fourmillement dans les lésions des nerfs périphériques’’, “Presse médicale”, 47, 388–389,1915
  17. ↑ Tinel, J. ‘’The "tingling sign" in peripheral nerve lesions’’ (Translated by EB Kaplan). In: M. Spinner M (Ed.), “Injuries to the Major Branches of Peripheral Nerves of the Forearm”, 2nd ed. pp 8–13, Philadelphia: WD Saunders Co, 1978.
  18. ↑ http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_jul00_tinel.pdf
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