Treatment for Repetitive Strain Injuries: Beating the Cycle of Pain

Repetitive strain injuries can become a constant battle, with pain flaring each time you carry out certain activities. The answer to this vicious cycle is adequate rest, appropriate treatment, and correct management to help you return to the things you want to do. Find out about our treatments for repetitive strain injuries, and how they can break the cycle of pain.

Why do repetitive strain injuries happen?

Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) are overuse injuries of soft tissue, such as tendinitis, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow, among others.

RSI can affect any part of the body, but the most common sites are the wrist, elbow, shoulder and neck, and also the knee, ankle and foot.

They are typically caused by repetitive movements, sustained awkward postures, or during repeated activities that cause high levels of force to the body.

Stress on the tissues can cause minor damage, such as overstretching and micro-tears. Normally, the body can recover quickly from this damage, but if the stress is ongoing, the body doesn’t have time to heal. This results in a breakdown in the structure of connective tissue, allowing a chronic pattern of injury and inflammation to develop.

Treatment of repetitive strain injuries depends on interrupting this cycle of ‘wear and tear’, giving the tissues time to recover and rebuild.

Symptoms of RSI

Typical symptoms include:

Pain that worsens with the aggravating activity, eases with rest, and then often worsens again on movement.
Stiffness and difficulty with movement.
Possible loss of strength and dexterity.
Swelling and redness.
Sometimes, a crackling noise with movement.
Tingling or numbness, depending on the nature of the injury.

Treatment for RSI

Getting early diagnosis and intervention is the best way to prevent the problem building up. An osteopath or physiotherapist can assess the nature of your injury and identify the mechanical issues that are leading to it.

Because RSI is an injury of overuse, ceasing doing the things that worsen symptoms and giving the injured body part plenty of rest form the backbone of successful treatment.

A physiotherapist or an osteopath can help you modify the duration and intensity of activities that contribute to your RSI. If necessary, they will advise you to take a complete break to give you the best chance of recovery.

Alternatively, there may be small alterations that they can suggest that enable you to continue your normal activities to an extent. These might include straps or supports, or ergonomic changes to your workstation or home furniture.

After a period of relative rest, you’ll be ready to start rebuilding strength and resilience to allow you to get back to normal.

Physiotherapy and osteopathy treatment for repetitive strain injuries

Once your therapist has fully assessed your injury, they will be able to provide treatment to reduce the pain and functional problems associated with RSI.

Treatment for RSI might include:

Soft tissue massage to reduce tension and pain and increase local blood flow.
Joint mobilisation to improve flexibility and normalise biomechanics.
Joint manipulation (‘clicking’) to produce reflex relaxation of tissues and maximise function.
Muscle energy techniques to increase the resting length of muscles, improving muscle balance and flexibility.
Exercise therapy to strengthen tissues in a graded and progressive way.

Your physiotherapist or osteopath will monitor your progress, making sure you’re ready for the next stage before stepping up your treatment and exercise programme.

Shockwave treatment for RSI

Shockwave treatment is a proven method of boosting healing and regeneration in damaged tissue.

It works by delivering intense bursts of energy to damaged tissue, which triggers inflammation and provokes a healing response. It is safe, effective, and has no side-effects beyond mild redness and discomfort.

Application can vastly improve recovery times, particularly in longer-standing cases of soft tissue injury.

Our therapists are qualified in providing shockwave therapy. You can receive this as a standalone or in combination with manual therapy treatment for your repetitive strain injury.