Most Repetitive Strain Injuries are able to heal themselves as long as there is ample rest given when the RSI begins. The longer an RSI goes without getting time to heal the more difficult it will be to treat the injury. If an RSI goes untreated it can persist for years while progressively getting worse. This leads to many injuries that have surgery at the only possible solution.
The most common treatment that is prescribed for Repetitive Strain Injuries is rest. The injured area must be given the opportunity to heal on its own. In addition to rest other treatments that are commonly suggested are exercise, braces, and massage.
Pain medications can be used to eliminate the pain. The problem with this approach, however, is that the pain will hide the RSI symptoms leading the patient to return too early to activities that caused the injury.
Other treatments are actually preventative measures that should have been taken before the injury occurred, but will also help treating the injury once the person returns to the activity that was the initial cause. These include ergonomic considerations and exercise.
Sometimes learning to deal with the pain is the best treatment. If the injury causes such a disruption in a person’s life that it’s worse that the injury itself then learning to cope with the pain might be the best answer. This way the patient can resume their day-to-day activities providing they understand how to avoid making the injury worse.
