Your arm has been painful, and now it goes numb and you can’t move it like you used to. Your doctor calls it repetitive motion syndrome. So what is it and how did you get it?
Repetitive stress injuries
Repetitive motion syndrome or repetitive stress injuries are caused by doing the same motion over and over again. The repeated motion injures the muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons either temporarily or permanently. If it isn’t treated it can result in completely losing function of the affected area.
Typical examples
Typical examples of a repetitive motion injury are “tennis elbow” or carpal tunnel syndrome. CTS happens when the median nerve is compressed by ligaments and tendons in the wrist that are swollen and inflamed. People who use a computer to type or work an assembly line tend to be good candidates for CTS.
Women are more prone to it than men since CTS is more common in people with a congenitally smaller tunnel space and the dominant hand is more likely to be affected first.
Treatment for Repetitive Motion Syndrome
Treatment can vary, depending on the injury, person and severity. Treatment should be designed to regain the highest level of function possible and improving their quality of life. It may include physical or occupational therapy, also exercises to strengthen and prevent further injury. It may also include surgery with the previous items being utilized before and after surgery.
If you aren’t sure what you should do, talk to your doctor or physical therapist..
Treatment is necessary so don’t put it off. Don’t suffer and don’t lose the use of your hand, arm or whatever other area is affected. Ask your doctor about physical therapy. Then be 100% honest about exactly what is painful and the physical therapist will put a program together to help you.
If you are experiencing Repetitive Motion Syndrome (or think you might be), please schedule a free pain consultation with Specialized Physical Therapy today!
