My Hands Hurt

Many of us take our hands for granted — until pain or loss of function transforms even a simple task into a painful ordeal. Repetitive stress injury is one such ailment that can interfere with everyday living. Simple mundane jobs–as tearing a roti, buttoning a shirt or holding a spoon become an arduous task because of chronic pain or inflammation.

Repetitive stress injuries

Dr. Sunil Marwah, Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon and Traumatologist says, “Repetitive stress injuries or RSI emanate from chair to car lifestyle. If we constantly use one group of muscle or body part, it can result in wear and tear, muscle strain and tissue damage.” “Usually this kind of inflammation never gets a chance to heal because these everyday activities invariably continue”, he explains.

• But RSI isn’t a new phenomenon. Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are two common examples of other overuse syndromes. They have been around for a long time and you don’t have to play tennis or golf either to suffer from them.
• Computers do get all the blame for repetitive physical stress. This is not true, the ailment has been occurring in the past, mainly among blue-collar workers: meat cutters, construction workers, jackhammer operators, carpenters, assembly-line workers, upholsterers and sewing machine operators.
• In the Indian scenario lab workers, call-centre employees and computer professionals are suffering from RSI. Industry estimates peg nearly 20 percent of all computer users world wide as suffering from RSI.
• RSI has invaded into the world of teenaged and children too. Repeated use of computer games, whether they are hand-held or on mobile phones or played on the TV or computer and through text messaging makes them vulnerable to repetitive motion injuries.
• The mobile handheld world of Blackberry users finds itself in the grip of RSI . The technical name for thumb distress resulting from repetitive stress injury, as a result of overusing small gadget keypads is dequervains, informs Dr. Marwah. Though the unofficial name for the for the malady — “BlackBerry thumb” has become popular. So common is the malady that the American Physical Therapy Association adds it to the list of workplace maladies.

Symptoms

• It may be months, even years, before someone starts to experience the discomfort and pain of RSI. This is because it takes time for the repetitive damage to reach a level where it causes problems.
• It often starts with a slight ache every now and then, which people often ignore. As time passes and the damage continues, individuals may experience symptoms while performing the repeated activity, when typing for example.
• As the situation becomes more severe, pain may be felt most of the time, even with the slightest movement. One or both upper limbs may be affected. Many people also experience numbness and tingling, which combined with the pain mean they can find it difficult to hold objects, and often drop them.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is a long word with a big impact on your health. Believe it, human body is not designed to spend hours sitting hunched on a computer desk. It’s a good idea to have an ergonomic evaluation of your workspace to avoid repetitive strain injuries. If that’s not possible, these tips might help:

• While typing keep your wrists in a neutral position, not flexed downward or extended upward, when using your computer. A good way to check is–place your wrist, palm facing down, on a flat, hard surface. Put a Band-Aid lengthwise over the top of your wrist, and then move to your keyboard and type. If the Band-Aid stretches or goes slack, your wrists aren’t in a neutral position.
• Get rid of clutter in your workstation. Poorly positioned and organised workstations add to the problem. Keep staplers, pens and telephone in your reach so that you are not stretching yourself all the time.
• Use both hands and light touch while typing. Do not hold mouse too hard.

Finally, as the new gadgets keep invading the market we are going to feel the stress in different parts. Listen to your body before you begin overdoing on your new toy.

Doc Speak

• Square your computer screen to your line of vision. This may mean propping your computer or laptop up.
• Posture has never been so important. Do not hunch while typing.
• Pay attention to fatigue and stop working on a computer when you experience it.
• “Take breaks. Get up from your desk and stretch for thirty seconds every thirty minutes”, advises Dr. Marwah.
• Keep hands and body warm.

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