Carpal tunnel syndrome gets a lot of press, but it’s only one of many possible injuries that fall under the heading of repetitive stress injury or RSI.
What is an RSI? Any injury caused by overuse or over-stress on a body part. In other words, using the body in a way that the body wasn’t designed for — at least not repeatedly, or for long periods of time. Often, RSI refers to a joint and the muscles, bones, tendons, or bursas that operate the joint.
The initial impact of overuse or over-stress may not be noticeable — think about flexing your wrist beyond where you’re comfortable. It may not hurt immediately. But keep over-extending your wrist many times per day for many weeks and you’ll find the joint starting to protest!
Common repetitive stress injuries include:
- Tendonitis
- Bursitis
- Tennis elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Shin splints
- Bunions and calluses
More recently, “Blackberry thumb” has been added to that list — injury to your thumb from too much typing and texting on your Blackberry or other personal data device. Phones, too!
The best way to get rid of a repetitive stress injury is to stop doing the thing that is stressing your joints! Easier said than done, of course. My doctor diagnosed me with RSI a few years ago — I thought I had carpal tunnel syndrome, but it wasn’t. He gave me wrist braces to wear at night, while I slept. I protested: “But my wrists don’t hurt while I’m sleeping!” He told me to try it anyway.
And it worked. Outside of the strain of typing away at the keyboard all day, I was crunching my wrists up under my head while I was sleeping. Wearing the braces kept my wrists in a neutral position and helped relieve pain I was experiencing during the day, too.