A Simple Guide to Repetitive Strain Injury, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Repetitive Strain Injury, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Repetitive strain injury (RSI), also termed Repetitive stress injury, is an injury that causes painful damage to muscles, nerves and tendons through repetitive movements and overuse.

The disorder mostly involves parts of the upper body, such as the forearm, elbow, wrist, hands, neck and shoulders, in jobs (typing) and sports that require repetitive motions (golf).

There are 2 types of RSI depending on the symptoms:
Type 1 RSI – This is when a doctor can diagnose a recognized medical disorder from the symptoms.
Type 1 RSI is a musculoskeletal disorder.
Symptoms normally involve swelling and inflammation of specific muscles or tendons.

Type 2 RSI – This is when a doctor cannot diagnose a medical disorder from the symptoms.
This is normally due to lack of obvious symptoms, apart from pain.
Type 2 RSI is also termed non-specific pain syndrome or diffuse RSI.
Type 2 RSI has a variety of causes such as nerve damage resulting from work activities.

Repetitive strain injury is normally linked with doing a particular activity repeatedly or for a long period of time.

RSI often happens in people who work with computers or perform repetitive manual work.

Certain activities are believed to elevate the risk of RSI such as:
Doing an activity for a long time without rest (prolonged periods)
Doing an activity that requires force such as lifting heavy objects
Poor posture or activities that force the person to work in an uncomfortable position
Cold temperatures
Vibrating equipment
Stress - Increased psychological stress has been shown to worsen RSI
Overuse of a particular muscle or group of muscles
Non-ergonomically designed workspace
Direct pressure to particular areas
Fatigue

The general symptoms of RSI are:
Pain and tenderness in the involved muscle or joint
Throbbing or pulsating sensation in the involved region
Tingling, especially the hand or arm
Loss of strength and sensation
Cramp
Stiffness

Doctors will always perform a physical examination and medical history evaluation, to see if the signs and symptoms can be linked to a specific repetitive activity.

Radiological imaging studies may be used to visualize bony avulsions.

MRI has been quite effective in revealing tendon, ligament, and muscle injuries.

Electro-diagnostic testing can provide evidence of the site and severity of the nerve injury.

The purpose of treatment is to relieve pain and enable the strength and mobility to return.

If the person is diagnosed with repetitive strain injury (RSI), the doctor will probably advise the person to temporarily stop doing the task or activity that is causing the symptoms.

Applying ice (or a damp heated towel) to the affected area can help decrease pain and swelling

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory oral medicines, such as indomethacin and naproxen, may be given to help reduce the pain and swelling of Repetitive Stress Injury.

Some persons may require physical therapy exercises.

The purposes of these physical therapy exercises are to strengthen the affected muscles, improve flexibility and reduce stiffness.

It may take several months for a person to finish the physical therapy program and recover full strength and functionality

Surgery is a treatment, if non-surgical treatment methods for treating Repetitive Stress Injury are unsuccessful.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Repetitive Strain Injury
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Writer’s Cramp
Chapter 8 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215743171

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Repetitive Strain Injury,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B., B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2023 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Repetitive Strain Injury, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Repetitive Strain Injury)

This e-Book is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

What is Repetitive strain injury?

Repetitive strain injury (RSI), also termed Repetitive stress injury, is an injury that causes painful damage to muscles, nerves and tendons through repetitive movements and overuse.

The disorder mostly involves parts of the upper body, such as the forearm, elbow, wrist, hands, neck and shoulders, in jobs (typing) and sports that require repetitive motions (golf).

RSI may also produce stiffness and swelling.

Types of Repetitive strain injury

There are 2 types of RSI depending on the symptoms:

1. Type 1 RSI – This is when a doctor can diagnose a recognized medical disorder from the symptoms.

Type 1 RSI is a musculoskeletal disorder.

Symptoms normally involve swelling and inflammation of specific muscles or tendons.

2. Type 2 RSI – This is when a doctor cannot diagnose a medical disorder from the symptoms.

This is normally due to lack of obvious symptoms, apart from pain.

Type 2 RSI is also termed non-specific pain syndrome or diffuse RSI.

Type 2 RSI has a variety of causes such as nerve damage resulting from work activities.

What are the causes of Repetitive strain injury?

Causes

Repetitive strain injury is normally linked with doing a particular activity repeatedly or for a long period of time.

RSI often happens in people who work with computers or perform repetitive manual work.

Certain activities are believed to elevate the risk of RSI such as:

1. Doing an activity for a long time without rest (prolonged periods)

2. Doing an activity that requires force such as lifting heavy objects

3. Poor posture or activities that force the person to work in an uncomfortable position

4. Cold temperatures

5. Vibrating equipment

6. Stress - Increased psychological stress has been shown to worsen RSI

7. Overuse of a particular muscle or group of muscles

8. Non-ergonomically designed workspace

9. Direct pressure to particular areas

10. Fatigue

The causes of RSIs differ widely.