Repetitive Strain Injuries in the Workplace
On the job injuries are a particularly ironic and frustrating setback for a worker and his or her family. If the injury is severe enough it can force a worker to miss time at work and may permanently compromise one’s ability to be gainfully employed. So, you went to work to earn money but an injury sustained there may wind up costing you much more than you would have gained even if you remained healthy. It hardly seems fair but it is the challenging reality with which countless employees and their loved ones must contend on a daily basis.
Heavy-duty physical jobs such as those in construction work bear some additional hazards for those who fill the positions. Dangerous tools and machinery are one source of threat and they can cause debilitating and violent injuries when handled improperly or in the event of a mechanical defect or malfunction. These are the sorts of injuries that typically spring to mind when one considers the need for workers’ compensation benefits, perhaps because they are so troubling and visually easy to grasp. But some less obvious occupational injuries can also interfere in the lives of workers.
Invisible Trauma
Repetitive strain injuries are caused by the frequent repetition of a motion or motions that activate the same muscles, joints, and connective tissues. Although each individual action may not be particularly demanding, the cumulative effect of many smaller traumas can result in a painful and lasting damage. There are rarely outward signs or symptoms of these slowly developing health issues, so by the time pain appears it is likely too late to prevent or fully eliminate the condition without rest and rehabilitation.
Because these conditions depend not on the intensity of the work done but on the muscular focus and frequency of repetition they are just as likely to strike an individual working in an office setting as they are a manufacturing worker. The three most commonly encountered kinds of repetitive strain injury are:
Carpal tunnel syndrome – results from pinching of the medial nerve caused by the inflammation of the tissues in the wrist Bursitis – occurs when the bursa (fluid-filled cushions between bones) become swollen and interfere with free movement Tendonitis – caused by the overuse of a particular tendon (connective tissue between muscle and bone) which leads to localized pain.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
Heavy-duty physical jobs such as those in construction work bear some additional hazards for those who fill the positions. Dangerous tools and machinery are one source of threat and they can cause debilitating and violent injuries when handled improperly or in the event of a mechanical defect or malfunction. These are the sorts of injuries that typically spring to mind when one considers the need for workers’ compensation benefits, perhaps because they are so troubling and visually easy to grasp. But some less obvious occupational injuries can also interfere in the lives of workers.
Invisible Trauma
Repetitive strain injuries are caused by the frequent repetition of a motion or motions that activate the same muscles, joints, and connective tissues. Although each individual action may not be particularly demanding, the cumulative effect of many smaller traumas can result in a painful and lasting damage. There are rarely outward signs or symptoms of these slowly developing health issues, so by the time pain appears it is likely too late to prevent or fully eliminate the condition without rest and rehabilitation.
Because these conditions depend not on the intensity of the work done but on the muscular focus and frequency of repetition they are just as likely to strike an individual working in an office setting as they are a manufacturing worker. The three most commonly encountered kinds of repetitive strain injury are:
Carpal tunnel syndrome – results from pinching of the medial nerve caused by the inflammation of the tissues in the wrist Bursitis – occurs when the bursa (fluid-filled cushions between bones) become swollen and interfere with free movement Tendonitis – caused by the overuse of a particular tendon (connective tissue between muscle and bone) which leads to localized pain.
By: Joseph Devine
About the Author:
Filing for Benefits
If you have developed a repetitive strain injury at work, then it is important for your health and your future that you actively seek the workers’ compensation benefits to which you are entitled. To learn more, feel free to speak with the Des Moines workers’ compensation lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C.
Joseph Devine
workplace injury compensation
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