Three repetitive strain injuries telehealth can treat

People who work on an assembly line. Athletes who are doing too much training. Workers who spend long hours typing. What do all these people have in common? They’re at greater risk of developing a repetitive strain injury. 

These injuries are also known as repetitive stress or repetitive motion injuries, and they occur when muscles, tendons or nerves are gradually damaged by repetitive movements. Repetitive stress injuries are especially common in U.S. workers. In fact, it’s reported that about 1.8 million American workers develop these injuries annually. One option that can help treat your repetitive strain injury is telehealth, which is also called telePT when performed by a physical therapist. 

TelePT can help you treat these three repetitive strain injuries

There are many repetitive strain injuries since there are so many structures they can affect. Virtual physical therapists can help you find treatment for many such injuries. Below are three injuries in particular that virtual therapists often see: 

1. Bursitis — This injury occurs when bursae are inflamed by repetitive movement. Bursae are small fluid-filled sacs that provide cushioning between bones and tendons or muscles. This condition is a common repetitive stress injury that frequently occurs in the knee, hip or elbow. One study reports that 8.7 million Americans were affected by bursitis in 2013. 

2. Rotator cuff tendinitis — Tendinitis is a repetitive stress injury that affects a tendon. Rotator cuff tendinitis occurs when the tendon that’s injured is one that helps move the shoulder. Often, workers who do lots of overhead movements, like painters, develop this condition. Medical studies report that up to 18% of workers develop rotator cuff tendinitis in their lifetime. 

3. Tennis elbow — This condition affects far more people than just tennis players. Tennis elbow can occur in anyone who does repetitive elbow movements, and it’s characterized by pain on the outside of the affected elbow. Medical researchers estimate that up to 3% of the U.S. population develops tennis elbow in any given year. 

Find help for these and other repetitive stress injuries from Agile Virtual PT

Tired of living with the pain of a repetitive strain injury? Our Agile Virtual PT team can help reduce the pain of many such injuries. We’ll start by evaluating your movement and asking you questions about your symptoms; this will help us determine what type of injury you have. Then, our team will build you a personalized virtual therapy plan that can include techniques like: 

• Injury and anatomical education.
• Recommendations on pain management such as rest, icing and heat.
• Discussing, demonstrating and cueing therapeutic exercises.
• Walking you through self-mobilization techniques.
• Showing you how to use assistive devices. 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can assist with your injury or to schedule your initial appointment.