How We Treat RSI and OOS Pain At Severn Pain & Injury Care

Low Energy Laser Therapy is the application of specific deeply penetrating light waves to a painful area. Light with a wavelength in the red to near infrared region of the spectrum (660nm–905nm) is generally employed because these wavelengths have the ability to penetrate skin, and soft/hard tissues. 

Lasers like these are known to trigger the release of a substance called ATP within cells, this is a sign that tissues receive a metabolic boost as a result of treatment.

A great many clinical trials have shown this type of treatment has a meaningful effect on pain, inflammation and tissue repair. In our experience people with RSI & OOS pain often experience immediate improvements in their pain after laser sessions.

ShockwaveTherapy was originally researched and developed in the 1980s for the non-invasive treatment of kidney stones. Later it was discovered that the same sound soundwaves have a profoundly beneficial effect on injured soft tissues and even bone.

The startling effects of Shockwave Therapy that have been observed in the scientific literature include: blood vessel regeneration – reduction of pain signals – regeneration of bone tissue – prevention of cartilage degeneration – increase in tissue ‘growth factors’ – reversal of chronic inflammation re-absorption of calcification in the tendon – reducing tendinopathies. These effects are a glimpse into how useful shockwave is in the treatment of RSI & OOS type pain.

Shockwave Therapy was originally developed for its application as a non-invasive treatment of kidney stones. We use a gentler form of the same technology to break up deep muscle knots, calcified tendons and tracts of scar tissue in the ankle. For more information on shockwave therapy visit our shockwave homepage here.

Acupuncture can be extremely helpful in the management of many cases of RSI & OOS. As opposed to the traditional approach to acupuncture (where needles are placed in a wider set of related locations) we generally focus directly on the area of pain.

Needling aims to promote blood flow, ease painful pressure points in soft tissues and reduce pain signals. Needles are placed very superficially around the area of pain and we generally leave them in for around 10 minutes, depending on your body’s tolerance to them. If acupuncture works for your RSI/OOS pain the benefits are usually felt within the first 2-3 sessions.

A large number of people suffer with stubborn RSI & OOS pain that is caused in part by soft tissue adhesions. A bit like a tiny spider web that creates tissue tension and irritation. These types of adhesions can come from almost any history of physical injury, trauma or overuse. 

Graston Technique is like a form of specialised massage that utilises ‘scraping’ tools to release the connective tissues. Using Graston Technique to release adhesions can bring shockingly fast relief for many RSI & OOS sufferers. Even for those patients who have struggled for years.

In the world of pain management there has been a very decisive move away from ímmobilisation’’ in favour of more active types of rehab in the last 30 or so years. And yet in NZ at least bracing for RSI & OOS is still surprisingly common given that the evidence has led largely away from these types of approach.

While bone and soft tissue are healing from major breaks and tears bracing, casts and splints are essential. Beyond that a modern take on pain management broadly indicates that you should be suspicious of managing your pain in a way that favors bracing over intense hands on treatment and exercise prescription.

There is an important nuance to understand about the use of exercises in RSI & OOS pain management. Exercises are a vital part of the longer term rehab of OOS & RSI pain. In the short term however exercises will often either have little effect or slightly aggravate your condition.

If you have a significant build up of muscle knots, soft tissue adhesions or tendinopathies it is way too much to expect that exercises alone will resolve them for you.  Most stubborn cases of  wrist pain and hand pain require hands on treatment before they are truly responsive to exercise prescription.

Trigger point release techniques use the hands, fingers and even elbows to release those painful muscle points that are all too easy to find in and around literally all chronically painful body parts. 

There’s still no full scientific understanding of the role myofascial trigger points play in pain. It’s a very hard thing to study and the truth is we still don’t know much about the body.  Meanwhile, in the front lines where pain is treated day in and day out… treatments that release myofascial trigger points bring dramatic improvements for a great many sufferers of RSI & OOS pain

The Mayo Clinic is one of the world’s foremost medical research institutions, their website lists the following known cortisone side effects: Cartilage damage – death of bone tissue –  joint infection – nerve damage – joint inflammation – tendon weakening and rupture – thinning of bone (osteoporosis) – permanent thinning of skin and soft tissue around the injection site.

Maybe you might consider trying our long list of treatments that carry no long term side effects whatsoever before you consider risking a cortisone injection as treatment for your RSI / OOS pain.