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At Your Desk Exercises For Repetitive Stress Injury

Author: Jeff Foster
Date Posted: November 30, 2006

If you are suffering from a RSI or repetitive stress injury, then there are some exercises that you can do at your desk during rest periods that will help your condition.

These same exercises can also help prevent repetitive stress if you don’t have it yet. It’s not necessary to perform all of them, and it doesn’t matter what order you do them. Each of the exercises will result in some stretching and you should attempt to hold each stretch for about 15 to 30 seconds.

You’ll want to repeat each stretch three times.

Be mindful that these suggested stretching exercises are just guidelines and you should do only what is comfortable for you. Make sure that when you are doing these exercises that you only engage in a gentle stretch and that you don’t stretch to the point of a painful feeling.

If you do start to feel some pain, then you should reduce the number of repetitions or shorten the amount of time that you hold each stretch. If discomfort continues, you should back off or eliminate that particular exercise. Of course, as with any type of exercise and any questions about these exercises and repetitive stress injury, you should consult with your doctor before engaging in them.

The first exercise starts with you holding both of your hands out in front of you and stretching them for a few seconds. You should work your fingers in and out until you feel a gentle stretch.

This next exercise involves you holding out both of your hands in front of you and curling your fingers and thumbs under at your first knuckle and gently squeezing them together.

Another good type of stretching exercise for RSI is done by placing your arms straight out in front of you, then raising your right hand so that your palm faces away from your body. Place your left palm onto the fingers of your right hand and press the fingers toward you until you feel the gentle stretch. Repeat these same steps reversing the process. In addition, a complementary exercise would be to keep your arms straight out in front of you and drop your right hand down with it bent at the wrist. Put your left hand on the knuckles of your right hand and press toward you until you feel the gentle stretch in the top of your wrist.

Swap your hands and repeat it on the other hand.

While your arms are still out in front of you, lace your fingers together and turn your hands downward and over so that your palms are facing away from you. Press outward until your arms are completely straight and you feel the gentle stretch.

Next… holding your right hand out in front of you with your palm facing up; take your left hand and massage your right hand from the inside out and in between your fingers.

Do this on both hands.

These are just a few of the exercises of many, many more that you can do to help ease the tension. Remember repetitive stress injury is brought on by repetitive motions that eventually create tension and inflammation.

The key to preventing and/or treating RSI is to make sure you avoid opportunities for your muscles to tighten and strain. Particularly for those who are cubicle bound, don’t just stretch your arms and fingers add your neck and shoulders as well to your desk stretching routine. All of this will help aid the healing of your repetitive stress injury.

About The Author

For more important information on repetitive stress injury be sure to visit http://www.rsi-aid.com where you will find advice and tips on treating repetitive stress injury and more articles.

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of Exercise articles.

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