Lesser Known Things About Repetitive Strain Injuries
Have you been dealing with persistent pain or an injury you can’t seem to get over? Have you tried to rest it but found it didn’t go away and may have worsened your problem? At Agility Physical Therapy, our physical therapists will help you get to the root of your issue (s) and resolve it once and for all!
Physical therapists excel in pinpointing the actual mechanism behind your pain/injury and how to resolve it. Our team stays up-to-date on the advances in musculoskeletal disorders to ensure we implement research-backed treatments to provide quick, lasting relief.
Good people have effectively theorized how to treat conditions like repetitive strain through the years. Unfortunately, this has led to inaccurate and ineffective treatments that people continue to use, despite the lack of results.
Trying to resolve all pain and injuries with the old treatment strategies often leads to a lack of improvement people experience. Fortunately, our team of therapists at Agility Physical Therapy can not only distinguish between the different types of injuries, but we can also guide you through an individualized program to achieve the best possible outcome!
Request an appointment today to get to the root of your problem and get back on the road to recovery!
What is meant by repetitive strain injuries?
Repetitive stress/strain injury describes an injury caused by repeated microtrauma. It is a chronic type of injury versus an acute injury caused by a specific or single event. The injury is usually gradual and related to the volume of repetitions or improper techniques repeated over an extended period.
Repetitive strain injuries can be challenging to identify because there is rarely pain early on and because the traumas are so minor (aka microtraumas). Over time the repetitions interfere with the body’s ability to repair these microtraumas adequately, and eventually, the tissues are overloaded, resulting in an injury.
Repetitive strain injuries are related to muscular imbalances, poor techniques, limited flexibility, excessive mobility, and training errors. Fortunately, our physical therapists at Agility Physical Therapy are highly experienced at identifying all the factors influencing your condition and implementing proven techniques to resolve them once and for all!
How to avoid common mistakes resolving repetitive strain injuries
Our body sends us clues about an injury or a potential injury in the form of pain or impaired mobility. Too often, people ignore these clues or try to push through them, only to find themselves in an even worse predicament. Doing too much or too little can lead to persistent pain and injury.
In the healthcare community, the recommended protocol to help people in pain or with an injury has been RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation). Recent research has indicated this is not the best recommendation, especially with repetitive strain-type injuries.
Although it is common to hear RICE is all needed to resolve this type of problem, rest can worsen the condition and make the tissue more susceptible to future injury. This is especially true with tendon injuries related to repetitive stress.
Recently there have been some indications in the research that ice does not help the recovery process and may delay recovery. Blood flow is essential for proper healing. The ingredients our body needs to repair injured tissue depend on adequate blood flow, so using ice to slow blood flow may actually interfere with this repair process and delay the healing.
Movement helps tissue to heal and recover faster. It has been found that those who begin moving the injured part sooner have shorter recovery times and faster returns to activity. This is where the skills of your physical therapists are needed.
At Agility Physical Therapy, our physical therapists will conduct a comprehensive evaluation to determine your condition and design a program tailored to your specific needs. Our specialists understand that delicate balance between doing too much too soon and not doing enough.
We will guide you through mobility and strengthening exercises to restore your function. We will incorporate targeted manual therapy and modalities to eliminate your pain and ensure your progress.
Our specialists will guide you through the lesser-known components to successfully treat repetitive strain injuries, including:
- Assessing and modifying improper or incorrect training techniques
- Correct form with activities
- Ensuring you are fitted and using equipment properly
- Recommending adequate sleep for recovery and injury prevention
- Encouraging compression to enhance circulation and minimize any swelling
We will take a proactive approach by designing a structured exercise program to ensure you get the results you have been looking for and prevent any future episodes!
Request an appointment today!
Most repetitive strain injuries are related to a gradual tissue breakdown or a degenerative process, not an inflammatory response typical of an acute injury. At Agility Physical Therapy, our physical therapist knows how to distinguish the type of injury you are dealing with and, more importantly, how to resolve it!
Call today to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists!
Sources:
- https://www.physio-pedia.com/Overuse_Injuries_in_Sport?utm_source=physiopedia&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=ongoing_internal
- https://josr-online.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13018-018-1017-5
- https://thesportjournal.org/article/the-r-i-c-e-protocol-is-a-myth-a-review-and-recommendations/#:~:text=So%2C%20today%2C%20RICE%20is%20not,process%20is%20unequivocally%20a%20myth.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5339266/
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210518114214.htm
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25649317/
- https://www.jospt.org/doi/abs/10.2519/jospt.2001.31.6.282
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1466853X0600099X