Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) is a musculoskeletal disorder that stems from repeated activity. RSI can cause issues in the upper limb area, neck, shoulders, and down into the fingers. Luckily, traditional Chinese acupuncture has been shown to help alleviate conditions related to the musculoskeletal system by inserting tiny needles into energy pathways throughout the body.
A workers compensation lawyer from Cohen & Cohen, P.C. has experience specifically in these types of workplace injury cases that develop over time. Experienced workers’ compensation lawyers can provide you with the appropriate guidance in healing and recovering damages for your injuries.
Here we have explained how acupuncture can help prevent the frequency and intensity of repetitive strain injuries (RSI):
How Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Happens
RSI develops when muscles or tendons become damaged or inflamed from the movements over a longer period of time. Symptoms related to RSI can include stiff joints, cramping, aching, pain, tingling, throbbing, weakness, and/or numbness of the impacted area. Repetitive strain usually occurs in workplace settings, where a person’s job is to perform specific repeated tasks repeatedly, without many breaks or other tasks to mix up the pace.
Traditional Chinese Acupuncture
Based on traditional Chinese medicine, painful conditions like repetitive stress injury (RSI) can occur when blood or qi (energy) is blocked. Energy and blood of the human body work together to nourish, warm, and protect us. Positive health depends on to what degree this blood and energy are permitted to flow freely, so every tissue, cell, and organ gets the nutrients it needs. When an activity is repeated, again and again, it can interfere with the flow of these two substances.
How Acupuncture Can Provide Relief
There are multiple approaches to treating repetitive strain injury (RSI), but acupuncture is one of the most popular methods. Acupuncture has shown to benefit this condition in the following ways:
- Reduces muscle tension
- Decreases inflammation
- Affects the central nervous system by blocking pain signals
- Releases endorphins and other pain-relief chemicals
- Improves circulation throughout the body
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Metaphor
When these substances cannot circulate as intended, the area associated with the repeated movements can get stiff, painful, and inflamed. Here is a simple analogy that can help put into perspective what happens to the blood and qi in the body when a person gets a repetitive strain injury (RSI):
Imagine you are drinking water through a plastic straw from a cup. If you were to bend the straw only one or perhaps twice, the straw might quickly spring back up into a linear shape. Despite bending the straw a couple of times, you can still suck up the water from the cup. However, if you were to bend the straw in the exact same place over and over again, eventually, it will become weak. Due to the crease will become more difficult for the water to pass through until the straw eventually breaks.
It is common for the qi to become stagnant first, as it is lighter and moves more rapidly through the body (otherwise referred to as “qi stagnation”). But, since qi is what keeps blood moving if a repetitive strain injury (RSI) goes untreated, the blood can get blocked too (known as “blood stagnasis”).
It’s crucial to find a worker\’s compensation lawyer who has experience handling these types of cases so your injuries don’t go untreated.