Diagnose Your RSI

Repetitive strain injury (also known as RSI) is a disorder involving the impaired function of upper limbs of the body due to damaged tendons, nerves and muscles or other soft tissue(s) due to repetitive movement and overuse.

The condition mostly affects the:

• Forearm
• Elbow
• Wrists
• Hands
• It can also occur in your back and neck.

If you have a job that requires repetitive tasks with your hands or fingers or exposes you to vibrating tools or equipment and you feel that you may be suffering with Repetitive Strain Injury, you should speak with your doctor and contact Mercury Legal Online Free on 0800 1223130 about a claim for compensation. If you’ve experienced any of the symptoms for RSI such as tingling, numbness or reduced grip strength you should speak to your local GP immediately about arranging a test for Repetitive Strain Injury.

RSI usually involves the arms, wrists or hands – or a combination of any of the upper limbs. The symptoms of the condition vary usually causes tingling, numbness or tiredness and a lack of strength in the area affected. Additionally, symptoms can include pain when trying to use the limb affected, leading to it becoming impared, resulting in some sufferers to give up work.

Repetitive jobs at work over a long period of time are the main cause of RSI. People working on assembly lines, packers and machinists are just some examples of employees who are prone to these repeated movements at work. Office jobs based on using a keyboard, input pad and/or mouse can cause Repetitive Strain Injury particularly if the duties include data entry . This is particularly the case if these duties amount to two hours a day or more and especially when the staff member is not able to take regular breaks to rest the affected hand, wrist or arm.

Stressful jobs, a high-pressure environment and poor posture are other risk factors that may also compound the chances of Repetitive Strain Injury at work.

If recognised and treated early , RSI can be successfully managed. Treatment for RSI involves reducing or avoiding the tasks at work that caused the problem and taking regular exercise including therapeutic stretches.

Your doctor may be able to give you a Steroid injection straight into the wrist to ease pressure on the nerve and give temporary relief for some mild sufferers.

Having removed or minimised the cause of the problem, treatment in mild cases often involves starting with the use of anti-inflammatory drugs for example Ibuprofen. Always consult your doctor.

Any job which has repeated actions over a long time can add to the risk of developing RSI. Some jobs such as office or assembly line workers are known to be at particular risk. However some of the following professions are also at risk of developing RSI:

• Food Pickers
• Cleaners
• Supermarket Checkout
• Data Entry Administrators and programmers
• Factory workers
• Meat Processing operatives
• Workers on Assembly lines
• Long Distance Lorry Drivers
• Machinists
• Decorators and Painters
• Sewing Machinists
• Builders and Manual Labourers
• Maunal labourers using vibrating tools
• Fruit Pickers

Individuals who would otherwise have still had a lot to contribute to the workplace have had little option other than to stop working, due to the disabling effects of RSI. If you’ve had to stop working because of your symptoms, we suggest that you should consult your Doctor and contact Mercury Legal Online on 0800 122 3130.