Repetitive
strain injuries, including the most recognizable
disorder known as carpal tunnel syndrome, are still
here in the 2007 despite the so-called “ergonomic
age”.
Gaining in prevalence in the early 90’s, carpal
tunnel syndrome was continually devastating workers
in offices and assembly lines all across America. The
implementation of the newest and latest ergonomic
gadgets was supposed to eliminate the carpal tunnel
syndrome epidemic, or at the least, greatly reduce
its ever-rising statistics. Not so. It
is now 2007 and government and private business are
still paying 100 billion annually to combat this
terrible disorder.
With carpal tunnel syndrome still plaguing the ranks,
another disorder is on the rise to add to the ever-increasing
costs of the effects associated with repetitive strain
injuries. This latest problem is Trigger Finger. No,
it is certainly not new, but is afflicting millions
of people each year and costing billions of dollars
to address. So what causes Trigger Finger and
how can it be stopped?
The most common causes of Trigger Finger involve
direct trauma overuse, with symptoms ranging from
a painless annoyance with occasional snapping/jerking
of the finger(s), to severe dysfunction and pain
with continuous locking of the finger(s) in a flexed
downward position into the palm of the hand. Most
often this “locking” occurs at the base
MP (metaphalangeal) joint. It may also
affect the middle and distal joints, casing the finger
to “bow”, which can be forced into a
straight position if pressure is applied directly
to the joint.
Trigger Finger and Trigger Thumb are most often
treated with cortisone injections and surgery although
there are more successful means of treatment utilizing
simples stretches and exercises to help thin the
tendon(s) and break down the adhesions or nodules
that have formed on the tendon. If the
appropriate stretches and exercises are applied,
the adhesions and/or scar tissue will reduce greatly,
eliminating the “catching” of the nodule
as it passes through the finger’s pulley system. It
is also possible that the stretching of the flexor
tendon may cause it to become thinner, thus allowing
the adhesion or scar tissue nodule to pass through
the pulley system with greater ease without catching.
So the question is, how can different forms of repetitive
strain injury continue to rise with all of these
ergonomic devices being used in manufacturing, assembly,
office stations and every other known location where
a human may be present? The reason is that
although ergonomic equipment may help reduce the
strain of work, it does not take the “work” out
of work! It is really that simple. The
person still has to work, therefore causing increased
chances of a muscle imbalance developing.
Repeating tasks over and over causes one muscle
group to become overused and tight while the opposing
muscle group becomes underused and weak. Overuse
can create hypoxia, areas of spasm or micro-tears
in the muscle tissue, thus causing scarring and nodules
/ adhesions to form. Under-use of the muscle
can create weakness and instability, thus increasing
the chances of trauma and again increased development
of scar tissue due to the formation of micro tears
within the muscles as they are subjected to tensile
strain or acute trauma from sudden jarring or impact.
The solution is muscle-balancing techniques through
stretching and exercising in order to create equality
of muscle and tendon length and strength, thus reducing
the chances of tendon thickening or scarring and
formation of nodules and adhesions. Creating
balance within the body’s soft-tissues creates
overall physical stability and reduces the chances
of developing a repetitive strain injury.
Get smart and take your heath into your hands…literally!
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