Slipping on ice and falling on the sidewalk. Slamming your finger in a car door. Being tackled while playing football. These are the types of traumatic events that most people associate with injuries. And, such events are definitely one source of musculoskeletal injuries.
However, there’s another possible source of musculoskeletal injuries that is often overlooked: repetitive movements that consistently put strain on your body. Such movements can cause damage to tendons, muscles, ligaments and other musculoskeletal structures over time. This slowly developing damage is typically referred to as repetitive strain injuries, and physical therapy is one way you can address repetitive strain injuries.
Three ways physical therapy can help address your repetitive strain injury
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are about 1.8 million U.S. workers who develop repetitive strain injuries annually. That doesn’t include those who develop such injuries outside of work. Clearly, there are a lot of people with repetitive strain injuries who should seek out physical therapy for their injury. Some of the ways physical therapy can help people with repetitive strain injuries include:
- Determining the injury’s cause — As we mentioned, repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) develop from certain repetitive movements. A physical therapist can help you identify the specific movement or movements that have triggered your injury. They can also determine which type of RSI you have. Some commonly identified types include:
- Tendinitis.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Bursitis.
- Treating your symptoms and their cause — Physical therapy isn’t just geared toward treating repetitive strain injury symptoms. Its goal is to address the underlying injury that’s causing your symptoms. For instance, you might have a weak muscle in your arm. This weak muscle could lead to more strain being placed on elbow tendons when you do certain movements, triggering an RSI. Your physical therapist can build you a treatment plan that helps build strength in the weak muscle. This plan can also include techniques like manual therapy that can help ease pain and improve flexibility.
- Helping you avoid future injuries — Most people who have lived through an RSI don’t want to have another one. Yet these are one type of injury that can return to haunt you. Your physical therapist can take steps to reduce your risk of a future RSI. One step they might take is to review the ergonomics of your workstation. They may then propose adjustments to it that can help reduce your risk of an injury.
SOL PT offers effective physical therapy for repetitive strain injuries
Unsure where to find physical therapy that can help you address an RSI? Look no further than our SOL Physical Therapy clinics. Our experienced clinicians can do a comprehensive evaluation on you to pinpoint the type of injury you have and its underlying cause. In addition, our physical therapists are experts at building treatment plans that are personalized to fit each patient’s needs.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can help address your RSI or to schedule your initial PT appointment.
