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Cause and treatment of repetitive motion injuries

On Behalf of | Feb 19, 2016 | Workers' Compensation

For some employees in Massachusetts, work might seem to be monotonous because they are required to do the same activity over and over again. While this might be required for the position and in the employment description, repetitive work or repetitive actions can be very taxing on the body. In some cases, repetitive motion could be the very cause of a work injury, resulting in the worker requiring medical attention to recover from the injury.

Repetitive motion injury is nothing new, but it is a growing concern in many work environments. Such an injury could result in a repetitive strain injury, which is a condition that is associated with repetitive tasks, vibrations, mechanical compressions, forceful exertions and awkward positions in the workplace.

In order to understand whether an employee is suffering from a repetitive motion injury, it is important to know the signs and symptoms. Generally, this type of injury includes tenderness in the affected muscle or joint, pain in the affected area, tingling sensation or loss of sensation, throbbing or pulsating sensation or pain in the area or loss of strength.

While this injury is more common in some work environments over others, there are certain actions or behaviors that are more likely to cause repetitive motion injuries. This includes jobs that require the employee to overuse a particular muscle or group or muscles, use of vibrating equipment, working in cold temperatures, poor posture, forceful activities, carrying heavy loads, holding the same posture for prolonged periods of time and increased psychological stress.

Common examples of repetitive strain injuries include edema, tendinosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff syndrome and radial tunnel syndrome. If it is determined that a worker is suffering from a repetitive motion injury, the worker will likely require treatment. This might include medical intervention, such as physical therapy and even surgery. In these matters, employees could seek workers’ compensation. This benefit could help the employee cover medical bills, lost wages and other damages caused by the work-related injury.

Source: Medicalnewstoday.com, “Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): Diagnosis, Symptoms And Treatments,” Tim Newman, Nov. 20, 2015

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