What is an overuse injury?

On Behalf of | Feb 2, 2023 | Workplace Injuries |

People who work in all fields have to worry about the possibility of overuse injuries, or repetitive stress injuries (RSIs).

What are these injuries? More importantly, how do they impact a person’s life?

How do jobs cause RSIs?

Mayo Clinic discusses overuse injuries and the primary problems associated with them. Overuse injuries typically occur when a person uses one muscle, joint or part of their body too much by doing the same repetitive motion over and over again over a period of hours, days, weeks, months or even years.

Many jobs have a high rate of repetitive stress injuries for the simple fact that many jobs require physical activity and repetitive motion combined.

For example, receptionists, store clerks, cashiers, chefs, mechanics, assembly line workers, hair stylists, seamstresses, teachers and tellers at banks all have parts of their job that require them to move their bodies in the same way every single day.

The most common RSIs

Though RSIs can occur in the lower body and legs, they are much more common in the upper body. In specific, the arms, elbows, wrists and hands have a high level of susceptibility to these injuries.

RSIs cause a major problem for workers because the only real way to heal is through plenty of rest. Victims unfortunately cannot always take off the appropriate amount of time, though. Thus, they are stuck returning to work before they are ready, which may worsen the injury to the point that it requires a surgical fix.

This is also why people injured on the job seek workers’ compensation for the extra financial boost it provides.

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