Repetitive Stress/Strain Injuries Plague Manufacturing and Customer Service Based Industries. RSI has cost U.S. employers on average over 1 billion U.S. Dollars per year. Current estimates suggest that repetitive strain/stress injury (RSI) conditions cost UK industries between £5bn and £20bn every year.

Symptoms of RSI can include numbness, swelling, pain, stiffness, weakness or tingling in the shoulders, back, neck, hands, wrists, elbows and lower limbs. Typically, discomfort brought on by a particular task will improve when it is stopped- i.e., when pain lessens or disappears over weekends or during holidays. If the discomfort begins in one area but then spreads to other parts of the body, this may manifest as sore shoulders, neck pain, stiffness in the limbs and hands. The earlier RSI is detected, the greater the likelihood that the condition can be reversed or symptoms can be eased.

If you have been diagnosed with RSI, the typical treatment is to rest the injured body part from aggravating factors (especially the task(s) that incited the condition). Your physician may also recommend painkillers/anti-inflammatories, physiotherapy, massage, ultrasound or even surgery in some cases. Constant ultrasound treatment (2 to 3 times daily) over a couple weeks during this phase is often very helpful in speeding recovery, or as an alternative to avoiding surgery. Ultrasound is becoming more popular in businesses, mostly due to the prodding of company therapists, and proven success in other companies that have made it a large part of their therapy programs. Ultrasound drops the cost of RSI dramatically, as both a preventative and as part of an RSI treatment program.