Bangalore/New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) Pain around the
neck and upper limbs? Beware! It could be Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
that comes from spending long hours before a computer.
At the NH
Narayana Multispeciality hospital in Bangalore, an average of 200
patients, all in the age group of 20-30 and mostly from the IT crowd,
come with complaints of RSI), which is increasingly becoming common
among youngsters in high-stress jobs and can take months to recover
from.
"High stress jobs like in the IT industry that requires one
to sit in front of the computer for 14-16 hours every day, leading
them to slouch and sit in a bad posture, with hardly any physical
activity, leads to Repetitive Strain Injury. It has become fairly common
for youngsters to come with complaints of such nature," Malchira S.
Somanna, consultant orthopaedician at Narayana hospital, told IANS.
Indications
of RSI could be a tingling sensation in the hands with numbness, called
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, pain around the neck and upper shoulders, and
feeling a "heavy burden" on the shoulders. Nearly 90 percent of the
orthopaedic patients in the out patient department (OPD) of Narayana
hospital are RSI patients from various multinational companies and IT
industry.
It's a similar scenario in the national capital, where
J.D. Mukherji, director, Neurology at Max Hospital, says that he gets
two-three patients every day complaining of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.
"Carpel
Tunnel syndrome is very common and I get about 20 cases every week.
This happens when the median nerve gets compressed, leading to tingling
sensation in the hand that worsens at night," Mukherji told IANS. Carpel
Tunnel syndrome patients, he added, are however not just young workers
but also those suffering from diabetes, hypothyroidism, and rheumatic
arthritis.
Treatment of RSI is usually multi-pronged, involving
exercises and physiotherapy, and not just medicines, and it could take
three weeks to six months to recover. Doctors say that if one ignores
the pain and tries to live off painkillers, the condition has every
chance to worsen and recovery may take longer.
"The treatment of
RSI is to avoid using the affected tendons and nerves. For example
overusing the phone can result in the inflammation of the elbow. So
overusing the injured muscles can result in weakening of the muscle, and
can even lead to disability. So the best prevention for such a
situation is to avoid overusing affected muscles," Mukherji said.
Doctors
suggest various ways to avoid overusing affected muscles. For instance,
using a pen to hit the keyboard, changing the inclination of the
computer to 15-20 degrees for a better posture, or using a chair that is
more comfortable and is at an ideal height.
Raju Vaishya,
consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Apollo Hospital and president of the
Arthritis Care Foundation, further said that writer's cramp (cramp in
the hands), tennis elbow (elbow pain), and osteoarthritis (knee pain)
are also common.
"RSI is caused because of repetitive use of the
musculoskeletal system in performing certain sets of work without
adequate breaks, and sometimes in a bad posture. This is why most of our
patients, in the 25-35 age group, are into jobs that require long hours
in front of the computer," Vaishya told IANS.
"Such stress
causes pain and sometimes long-term disability. The prevention lies in
avoiding repetitive stress at work by understanding the ergonomics of
your job and taking mini breaks after every one hour. Sitting in a good
posture at your work desk and using the computers in the most efficient
and correct way can prevent a lot of RSI," he added.
(Azera Rahman can be contacted at azera.rahman@ians.in)