One of the most difficult conditions to deal with is the repetitive strain injury (RSI). RSI is caused by force, rapid movement, overuse, static loading, uncomfortable positioning of limbs or holding one's posture in an unnatural, constrained and constricted position and excessive strain. Symptoms are usually numbness, tingling and burning sensation, inability to grasp objects, and severe pain. The usual sites of these injuries are the tendons because they connect the muscles to the bones to generate movement and they are often found in joints.

There are many types of repetitive strain injuries and one of them is the Tenosynovitis which is the inflammation of the sheaths around the tendons commonly seen in hands and wrists. There is depletion of the lubricant around the tendon sheaths is because of the repetitive movement. Friction on tendons and sheaths due to the depletion of lubricant will result to inflammation, pain and crepitus.

De Quervain's disease is also known as the "trigger thumb". It is the inflammation of the tendons in the thumb all the way to the wrist. Another type is the ganglion and it is caused by repetitive hand movements that lead to formation of round swelling on the back of the hand or wrist.

Repeated forceful motion and overuse of tendons will result to tendonitis, which is the irritation of tendons that causes inflammation. Achilles, posterior tibial, patellar, rotator cuff and tennis elbow tendonitis are some of the forms of tendonitis.

The compression of the median nerve in the wrist or the carpal tunnel that is caused by repetitive hand movements is the carpal tunnel syndrome. The usual symptoms are numbness, tingling and burning sensations, severe pain and weakness of the hand.

The Dupuytren's contracture causes contractures in the hand that could make your finger to bend down. Those who have dystonia or writer's cramp will experience uncontrollable movement and finger or hand cramps because of repetitive hand movements.

A strain injury in the muscles of the joint on the elbow is the epicondylitis or commonly known as "tennis elbow" or "golfer's elbow". Bursitis or what you called the miner's elbow, weaver's elbow, and miner's beat hand that causes swelling of the bursa because of prolonged pressures on the joints and its symptoms are severe pain and difficulty to move the affected part.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is caused by the pressure of the ulnar nerve with symptoms of elbow pain, weakness or clumsiness of the hand, numbness and tingling sensation of the ring finger and small fingers of the affected part. Raynaud's disease is another condition wherein there is an impaired blood circulation in the extremities.

Lifting your shoulders and hands repeatedly will predispose you to have a shoulder and neck strain injury. The muscles of the neck and shoulders are connected so both muscles are used when moving. If you have this condition you will experience pain in the affected part, neck stiffening, headaches and muscle tenderness.

To be relieved by all of these injuries, you should first stop the work or things that you do which gave you the symptoms. Consult a doctor for you to do the right thing for your condition especially when the situation worsens. The doctor will most likely prescribe you pain killers and refer you to a physical therapist to help you regain the function of the affected part.

If other remedies are not effective and symptoms worsen, surgery will be the last choice. There are many effects after the surgery and you have to deal with it, like inflammation, improvement in motion and function and possible infection. You have to be very cautious of your work and movement to avoid another injury, even though relapses are very uncommon after surgery.