Workers’ compensation in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, provides compensation for injured workers who can no longer perform their jobs. A common type of injury that workers face is repetitive stress injury, or RSI.
Definition of repetitive stress injury
Repetitive stress injury occurs when muscles, tendons and nerves gradually get damaged from repeated motion. Modern technology and office work place many workers at risk. Some RSIs are bad enough to keep an employee from working as before, so they qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. People who play sports that involve repetitious motion, such as tennis, are also at risk of injury.
Types of RSI
The most common type of RSI is carpal tunnel, which affects the median nerve that runs between the hand and forearm. Carpal tunnel commonly causes pain, weakness and numbness in the hands and wrist. Cubital tunnel syndrome, a similar condition, causes injury in the ulnar on the inside of the elbow.
Bursitis is a condition affecting the tiny fluid sacs called bursae, commonly occurring in the shoulders and hip. The fluid in the bursae helps reduce friction among the joints, but an injury can cause pain and inflammation.
Trigger finger and trigger thumb happen when a finger becomes bent and stuck in one position. The injury takes its name from the most commonly affected fingers. This condition causes pain and inflammation in the flexor tendons, the muscles that help the fingers flex.
If a worker is suffering pain due to a repetitive stress injury, that injury must meet certain requirements to qualify for workers’ comp. Employees only have so long to file a workers’ comp claim under the statute of limitations, so it’s important to start the process in a timely manner.
