23 May Overuse Injuries at the Office: Natural Treatments and Prevention
You don’t have to perform hard labor at your job to suffer a workplace injury. Even if you work at a desk, you may be at risk of ending up with an overuse or repetitive stress injury. At Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic, we treat lots of back, neck, arm and other pain caused by work activities. Natural, noninvasive therapies, along with positive lifestyle and work habits, will have you feeling better soon.
What Kinds of Overuse Injuries Happen in the Workplace?
Repetitive stress injuries often come on gradually, as soft tissues lose their strength and flexibility. If you leave them untreated or try to work through them, they’re likely to get worse over time, leading to pain and impairing your ability to perform many tasks.
Symptoms may include swelling, pain, numbness, weakness, and decreased mobility.
These injuries can come in many forms, such as:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Tendinitis
- Bursitis
- Sprains
- Impingement syndrome
- Rotator cuff injury
- Tennis elbow
- Knee injuries
- Dystonia (writer’s cramp)
How to Protect Your Body from Overuse Damage at Work
Making changes in your workspace and lifestyle will reduce wear and tear on your muscles, joints and tendons. Here are a few suggestions for people who work in an office:
Use lumbar support at your desk chair to protect your lower back.
Set your chair height so your forearms are parallel to the floor, with feet resting flat on the floor.
Keep supplies within easy reach so you don’t strain muscles by overreaching for items.
Take quick breaks from your work whenever possible to walk around and give your muscles a chance to recover.
Bend at your knees, not your back, if you have to lift something.
Alternate tasks frequently so you’re not doing the same movements for too long.
Try activities that relax muscles, such as massage, stretching and yoga.
Cut back on processed foods that promote inflammation and inhibit healing.
Follow suggestions from OSHA for setting up a health workspace to help you avoid overuse injuries.
Don’t delay in getting treatment when symptoms begin.
Healing Repetitive Stress Injuries with Chiropractic Care
Muscle weakness and pain from repetitive stress injuries will restrict mobility, leading to stiffness in your soft tissues and joints. This can worsen your symptoms.
Chiropractors use their expertise in the musculoskeletal system to diagnose and treat the sources of overuse injuries. Spinal adjustments and other treatments help the healing process for your injuries by:
- Improving flexibility, strength and range of motion
- Reducing inflammation and swelling
- Relieving pain
- Freeing up restricted joints
- Optimizing the function of your nerves and nervous system
Specialized treatments such as Active Release Technique (ART) help to break up scar tissue that builds up from overuse injuries, relieving pain and stiffness.
Your chiropractor can advise you about home exercises and good nutrition to keep the healing process moving along. Best of all, your care is safe and natural, entirely free of drugs or invasive procedures.
Being proactive with prevention and early treatment will help you stay productive and pain-free at work.
Contact Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic to Book Your Free Consultation
We’ll work with you to start feeling great again! Call our Broken Arrow office today at 918-940-4630.