Repetitive Strain Injuries:
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) caused by cumulative trauma are now the major cause of injuries in the workforce. Statistics show that the number of patients suffering from cumulative trauma has now surpassed those suffering from back pain. RSI cases have increased at a phenomenal rate of 670 % over the last five years.Common therapies such as: cross friction massage, heat, cold, electrical stimulation, rest, exercise, and surgery, have all failed to treat cumulative trauma effectively.
Symptoms of Repetitive Strain Injuries:
Repetitive Strain Injuries manifest in a broad range of symptoms and conditions. Any one or more of the following factors can contibute to RSI:
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Weak and Tight Tissues - Repetitive effort, for example, tends to make muscles tighten. A tight muscle tends to weaken; a weak muscle tends to tighten, and the cycle goes on and on.
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Friction, Pressure, Tension - As a result of weak and tight tissues, internal forces rise and produce friction, pressure, tension..
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Decreased Circulation - Increased forces on tissues results in decreased circulation.
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Edema - Edema results if pressure is applied over one of the vulnerable, low-pressure lymphatic channels. External forces -- in the form of a constant pressure or tension injury -- may also decrease circulation or cause edema.
- Adhesion Fibrosis - Adhesions can occur as a result of acute injury, repetitive motion, and constant pressure or tension.
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Cellular Hypoxia - Cellular Hypoxia can result from restricted circulation, causing fibrosis and adhesions to occur between tissues.
When the friction-pressure-tension factor is severe, or when an acute injury occurs, two additional factors come into play:
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Tear/crush syndrome
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Inflammatory response
Understanding how overuse or repetitive injuries occur and how to lessen the strain:
Overused muscles and other traumatized tissues can result in changes to your body in three important ways:
- Cause acute injuries (pulls, tears, collisions, etc.)
- Accumulate small tears (micro-trauma)
- Reduce oxygen flow to cells (hypoxia)
Each of these changes causes your body to produce tough, dense fibrous scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, the adhesion becomes more palpable and:
1. Muscles become shorter and weaker.
2. Tension on tendons causes tendonitis.
3. Nerves can become entrapped.
This can result in reduced Ranges of Motion, loss of strength, and pain. When nerves become entrapped, the patient may feel tingling, numbness, shooting pains, burning sensations, weakness, muscle atrophy,and circulatory changes.
ART® Can Resolve Repetitive Strain Injury:
ART® boasts a success rate greater than ninety ( percent (90%) in treating (RSI's). ART® provides the way to diagnose and treat the underlying causes of cumulative trauma disorders which often result in symptoms of numbness, tingling, burning, and aching. ART® is a hands-on therapy that corrects muscular and soft tissue problems that are caused by adhesion formation from overuse or cumulative trauma. Cumulative trauma and overuse of soft tissue causes Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI). Soft tissue that is forced to repeatedly perform the same job becomes irritated and then inflamed. The body responds to inflammation by laying down scar tissue in an attempt to stabilize the area. Once this happens, an ongoing cycle begins and worsens the condition. The longer this condition persists, the harder it is to break this cycle.
Common therapies such as cross friction massage, heat, cold, electrical stimulation, rest, exercise, chiropractic, and surgery have all failed to treat Cumulative Trauma effectively. The incidence of RSI's is skyrocketing. Recently, the health care costs for RSI in the US surpassed costs for low back pain as the largest health care expenditure. It is estimated that the cost of RSI's in the US alone exceeds $110 billion yearly.
