According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, repetitive stress injuries are one of the most common work-related injuries in the United States. Most jobs require doing the same tasks one day after another. Sometimes, this repetition leads to serious stress injuries. These injuries can prevent you from doing your job and from earning income. They can result in huge medical expenses, not to mention a great deal of pain and suffering.
Victims of repetitive stress injuries (also known as repetitive motion injuries or continuous trauma work injuries) develop their affliction by performing the same movements repeatedly, exposure to constant vibration, working in cold temperatures, awkward or fixed postures, and speed or force of movement in the course of performing their job. This may cause temporary or permanent damage to the victim’s muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons.
Repetitive stress injuries can be extremely painful, limiting a person’s ability to perform daily tasks at home and at work. There are a number of injuries that can be attributed to repetitious movement.
Here are a few of the most common repetitive stress injuries:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – swelling in the wrist, leading to pain, tingling and numbness in the hands. This wrist injury can be caused by strong hand or wrist action, such as keyboarding, scanning items at a cash register, or assembly line work.
- Tendonitis / Tenosynovitis – inflammation of a tendon or sheath that surrounds a tendon.
- Epicondylitis – inflammation of tendons in the elbow, sometimes called tennis elbow, this painful condition affects laborers and people in the construction trade.
- Ganglion Cysts – lumps that form under the skin on tendons.
- Bursitis – inflammation of any of the body’s 200 bursae that provides the cushion between tendon and bone.
- Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (Raynaud’s Phenomenon) – disorder of the blood vessels of extremities.
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – ompression of nerves in the area near the breastbone, leading to numbing, tingling and coldness in the arms. Compression can be caused by repetitive overhead movement.
Since a repetitive stress injury builds up over time, proving that it is work-related can be difficult. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing injured workers. We understand how to demonstrate the cause of repetitive stress injuries and prove that they are work-related.
Contact our NYC repetitive stress injury attorneys to schedule a free consultation today.