Repetitive Strain Injury
 Repetitive strain injury, also called work related upper limb disorders (WRULD) is normally caused to individuals whose job involves working in a continuous repetitive action for example, assembly line workers and those who are subject to poor ergonomics and bad posture.
It is believed that a repetitive strain injury is caused when a muscle group is used to perform a task repeatedly over long periods of time, straining the muscles, tendons and nerves thereby causing fatigue. By carrying on working under such conditions and not allowing the muscles and tendons adequate time to recover, further damage can be caused resulting in serious injury or even permanent disability.
The main risk factors of repetitive strain injuries can be summarised as follows:
Repetitive work
Jobs requiring repetitive movement of the limbs require greater muscular effort and therefore need more time to recover. Assembly line workers who work with machine paced work are at increased risk to repetitive strain injury.
Work that involves commission and bonuses for results puts employees under pressure to work faster meaning that they work their muscles and tendons even faster therefore putting them at greater risk. They would also be under greater stress.
Forceful movements
Jobs requiring heavy lifting puts pressure on the muscles causing greater strain on the muscles and tendons causing them to become fatigued much quicker.
Also an employee with inadequate work tools for his duties or simply where a job requires an employee to themselves apply force or pressure will be at a greater risk particularly if the movement is with the body in a static or awkward posture.
Static or awkward postures
When an employee is required to adopt a static or awkward posture for long periods of time the muscles and joints are put under severe pressure. This could be an office worker who has to stretch to reach their keyboard because their equipment is not positioned properly or where their work involves typing for long periods and their wrists are bent at a deep angle due to the absence of a wrist rest.
Gripping and twisting
Constant and hard gripping, twisting or pinching can increase the chance of repetitive strain injury. For example, employees using a computer who grip the mouse hard or squeeze it can eventually cause problems to their wrist/palm/fingers.
Poor work organisations
Repetitive strain injuries can be caused by poor work organisations. This can be caused by a number of factors from providing poor or no training to jobs with little variety. Production line workers may face extra stress for example from working on piece rate payment systems making them work faster and longer hours and with insufficient breaks for rest and recovery.
Stress
Employees whose jobs are demanding or those which involve working under pressure can be at an increased risk factor of repetitive strain injury. Stress makes muscles and soft tissues tense up. When this happens excessively a person under stress is more likely to be injured.
Cold
Employees working in cold environments or handling cold products such as frozen food products is a risk factor of the development of repetitive strain injury. Wearing protective materials such as gloves increases the risk as more effort is required by the muscles to perform certain tasks such as gripping.
Vibration
Using vibration tools is a risk factor to repetitive strain injury. Employees who use these tools repeatedly and for forceful tasks could be at risk from a number of injuries. To read more about Vibration Induced Injuries click here.
The most common conditions resulting from a repetitive strain injury include:
- Carpel tunnel syndrome
- Bursitis
- Depuytren’s contracture
- Epicondylitis
- Ganglion
- Rotator cuff syndrome
- Tendinitis
- Tenosynovitis
- Trigger finger/thumb
- Tennis elbow
Symptoms of repetitive strain injuries will depend on the nature of the injury but could include one or more of the following:
- Pain, stiffness, tightness, swelling or numbness, burning, tingling or restrictive movements in the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, back or neck;
- Pain or discomfort is felt when carrying out a particular task and lessens or disappears when not doing it i.e over weekends or holidays;
- Pain or discomfort starts in one area of the body and then spreads to other parts of the body.
- Lack of strength and co-ordination in the hands when carrying out simple tasks.
Jobs at risk of Repetitive Strain Injury
Legislation
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, The Health & Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (as amended 2002), The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended 2002) and Common Law all set out the duties of employers to prevent these injuries. To read more on these Regulations click here to visit the appropriate page on the Health and Safety Executive website.
Making a claim
We work with specialist solicitors who are experts in Repetitive Strain Injury Claims and have successfully represented and won cases on behalf of many clients.
If you would like to discuss making a claim or for more information call us free on 0800 505 3397 to speak to one of our advisers or submit your claim online by completing our online claim form.
Please note that strict time limits apply for making a Personal Injury Claim. If you are considering making a claim, we advise that you pursue it as soon as possible. To read more about time limits click here.
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