Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is an umbrella term for an overuse injury. Unlike a single incident such as a fall where you may hurt yourself instantly and cause some sort of acute trauma, repetitive strain injury occurs over time. The same repeated movement causes injury to the tendon and the surrounding tissue. Your tendon is made of collagen fibers, and effectively anchors your muscle to your bone.
People tend to associate repetitive strain injury with wrist pains/ elbow pains from working at the computer or doing sport. However, this is not exactly the case, as you can get overuse injuries in different areas of the body. Examples of repetitive strain injuries include: tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, supraspinatus tendonitis (shoulder), patellar tendonitis (knee), Achilles tendinopathy (ankle).
Tendinopathies can be extremely difficult to get rid of, mainly because tendons have limited blood supply, and therefore the healing process is slower.
As you can see below there is a process whereby an inflammation of a tendon can develop a tear over time. If tendinopathies are not treated, particularly in their early stages (the first few days to weeks), it can become a chronic condition and an absolute pain, literally!
If you think you have developed some sort of repetitive strain injury, don’t leave it to get worse. Treat it today.