Repetitive Strain Injury Information
RSIs are not so much diseases as they are a response to excessive and repetitive demands placed on the body. The hundreds of known repetitive stress injuries, or RSIs, all have a similar cause: excessive wear and tear on your body. They start when you do the same task over and over again, from clicking a mouse to craning to see the computer monitor. If your body doesn't get a chance to heal, the damage adds up, and can eventually destroy your ability to do your job.
Repetitive Strain Injury Articles
Judy Doane
The large information gaps that exist for people with injuries that tend to heal very slowly create the need to seek out others with similar injuries and to find resources. The desire for a regular meeting develops in the community and one or more persons then initiate the process of organizing meetings. The composition of the group that attends will depend largely on the community from which it springs. The following is an outline that incorporates some of the typical elements of that process.
Lisa M. Sattler, MS, PT
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)—recently renamed complex regional pain syndrome types I and II—is a documented condition described in the literature as a pain syndrome occurring as a result of trauma to a body part. Repetitive strain injuries have been described as injuries that at least partially involve microtrauma to soft tissue. In a number of cases patients with RSI have slowly developed RSD, which has been neglected in the literature. I have recently been introduced to the possibility that many RSI patients have "mild" or "early" RSD, and I want to alert other clinicians as well as patients.
Compiled by: David Mc Farlane (233KB MS Word)
Hal Blatman, MD
During the last few years I have followed the postings to online Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) discussion lists with considerable interest, and have occasionally offered some suggestions for myofascial pain sufferers. I’ve written this FAQ to assist in understanding myofascial pain, a syndrome that is still quite a mystery to many people including physicians, chiropractors, and therapists.
by Peter Bower, MD
from Nidus Information Services
An extensive report on CTS with information, resources, and literature. Part of the Well-Connected library http://www.well-connected.com, which consists of over 90 in-depth reports on common psychological and medical problems and wellness topics. Reports are reviewed by physicians at Harvard Medical School and are updated quarterly.
by Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine H. Gibney
Computer use among students has increased dramatically in the last few years. Many universities now require a computer and computer literacy for enrollment. When questioned about computer use most students report discomfort such as dry eyes, neck and shoulder tightness, back pain and exhaustion.
by Robert L. Kane, DC, CCUCS and David A. Browning, DC
Recently, medical research has been targeting the role of the cervical spine (neck) as it relates to upper extremity injuries (hand, wrist, elbow, arm, and shoulder). Specifically, the role of cervical biomechanics (the motion occurring at the joints of the neck) is now seen to play a significant role in RSI.
by Dr. Robert L. Kane, DC, CCUCS
Medical literature has repeatedly documented the involvement of multiple injury sites in repetitive strain injuries. This is commonly referred to as a "Double Crush" Syndrome.
Michael Roberts, B.App.Sci. (Physiotherapy)
With the increasing use of personal computers in homes and offices around the world, there is an increasing incidence of computer-related disorders. When the RSI epidemic swept the world in the late 1970s it was believed that the arm symptoms were coming from the wrists and forearms or from the complainants’ heads (i.e., "It's all in their heads.").
Bonnie Sussman, MEd, PT
As the incidence of cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) increases, companies continue to look for ways to prevent these problems or minimize disability and costs when they do occur. Preventive efforts such as minimizing repetition whenever possible, rotating jobs, setting up ergonomically sound workstations, taking stretch breaks, and using assistive devices are becoming more widespread. Although prevention techniques are critical to success, it can sometimes be hard to know how much and where to apply them.
by Joyce Slaton
Welcome to Generation Stress. Repetitive Strain Injury syndrome -- caused by stressing muscles, tendons, and nerves -- has been bustin' out in the ranks of computer workers since the industry kicked into high gear. But it's only recently that its debilitating effects have begun cropping up in other industries.
Repetitive Strain Injury Websites
More Repetitive Strain Injury Related Information:
RSI Rescue
http://www.rsirescue.com
On this website, based on the book, "It's Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: RSI Theory & Therapy for Computer Professionals," you'll find a five-page article synopsizing the authors' theory of RSI, an interactive quiz, many excerpts and testimonials from the book, an awesome review, a brochure that you can print for business or personal use, and their collection of web links
Avoiding a Painful Back!!!
http://ehs.virginia.edu/ergo/back.html
Environmental Health & Safety - University of Virginia
MIT's RSI Information Page
http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/rsi/index.html
Information on RSIs including who is at risk, prevention, warning signs, suggested reading and resources.
Personal RSI Stories
My RSI Saga: Or, How I am Beating RSI
http://www.geocities.com/joelkorb/myrsi.html
As you've probably gathered from the title of this page, I have gone through the marvelous problems associated with Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI), which basically refers to any injury associated with repetitive actions, in my case typing. Not to kill the suspense, but I am doing okay now, approximately 2 years after my first symptoms. I even have a job as a programmer! :)
Recovery From RSI So Far, by Erik Barkley
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1702/erikstry.html
Erik's RSI story to date, posted on the LA RSI website (of which Erik is a co-founder). It is a relatively long article; but in his opinion/experience if you have been severely injured and really want to reclaim your hands/arms there is a lot of ground to cover.
Amara's RSI Page
http://www.amara.com/aboutme/rsi.html
Ergonomic Computing (or Don't Let Your Computer Cripple You!)
An essay by Amara Graps
Rob Huttens Repetitive Strain Injuries page
http://www.hub.org/~rob/rsi/rsi.html
This is under construction. Hopefully, this will soon be a decent source of information on RSI (also called Occupational Overuse Syndrome or Cumulative Trauma Disorder.)
William Silverstein's Story
http://www.sorehands.com/injury
Thought you might want to add some of the information from my pages to your pages. I had been through quite a bit with tendinitis and more. |
Articles 