Treatment of a Repetitive Strain Injury

Repetitive strain injury (tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome) results in swelling, pain and inflammation after overuse of one area of your body. Conservative (nonsurgical) treatments can help alleviate your symptoms.

Early Treatment

• Repetitive strain injuries are injuries that happen from misuse or overuse of a set of tendons, nerves and muscles in the body. One type of repetitive strain injury is carpal tunnel syndrome, which can develop from making the same motion over and over.

  If you are suffering from such symptoms as swelling, pain, tenderness, loss of mobility in a joint, numbness/tingling, muscle spasms, cracking, decreased coordination or weakness in one part of the body that you work with, you should see your doctor to have your condition evaluated. If your symptoms don't go away after a few days, schedule an appointment with your doctor and explain what is happening. Repetitive stress injuries can quickly progress in severity, so it is important to receive a proper diagnosis so you can start treatment right away.

Limit Movement

• Once your doctor has diagnosed a repetitive strain injury, do as she says and limit the movement of the affected area of your body. If it helps to wear a splint to reduce the motion in your wrist (if you have carpal tunnel syndrome), ask for a prescription. If it is at all possible to do so, avoid the activity which caused your injury. Your doctor will tell you how long you need to avoid motion so the swelling in your tendons and muscles can go down. If your injury is work related, find out if there is another kind of work you can do which will not exacerbate your symptoms.

Nonsurgical Treatments

• While you are limiting movement to your injured body part, see if a corticosteroid injection might help to reduce inflammation. Your doctor will limit the number of injections you receive to approximately three per year.

  Yoga, which strengthens and stretches muscles in the body, may be another option for you to consider. In addition, think about a general program of exercise. Aerobic exercise can help strengthen your back, shoulder, arm and back muscles and increase your feelings of well-being.
  You can relieve pain by taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID). Long-term treatment with pain relief, however, can have serious side effects on other body systems. Alternate application of ice and warmth. Both applications can help relieve pain.

Massage

• Get a tennis ball (or two) and rub it along the part of your body which is inflamed and injured. If you have developed carpal tunnel syndrome, rub the tennis ball along your forearm. When you massage an injured body part, you want to reduce the swelling within your body.