RSI's: and now for the really bad news.

[Dreamliner]

RSI - Repetitive Strain Injury. Lots of us have them. My Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome would fit the bill. It's a highly technical term for "You have pain in the front of the knee and we don't have any idea what causes it."

Worse still, orthos, chiros and physios don't seem to know how to fix it.

The research is actually a little disturbing. RSI's are commonly thought to involve inflammation. That's not terribly daunting. Just ease up a couple of weeks, pop some NSAID's, etc.

But the research I've seen of late suggests something other than inflammation and something more akin to a dry rot. And the specific term that had a chilling effect:

Tissue Degeneration.

Almost has the ring of "It ain't necessarily coming back" to it. Sounds like a rupture or tear in the offing for the trainee who can't rein in the competitive instincts.

Thoughts ?

[el_lagarto]

[Dreamliner]

^ No, you haven't known forever that RSI's are more akin to dry rot than a sort of inflammation. In fact, aren't you the guy who was earlier glowing about stretching a tractor tire to cure ITB Syndrome ?

*I'm watching you*

[el_lagarto]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

^ No, you haven't known forever that RSI's are more akin to dry rot than a sort of inflammation. In fact, aren't you the guy who was earlier glowing about stretching a tractor tire to cure ITB Syndrome ?

*I'm watching you*

i dont agree with your premise about RSIs. like most of your driv......errr opinions, you go for simplicity and black and white, forgetting the world is largely grey.


regarding ITBS..... the basic question comes to whether or not you BELIEVE that connective tissue is governed by the laws of physics. you seem to believe that the IT band is immune to these laws.

and stretching such tissue is not the end all be all of helping someone with ITBS, those of us who realize the world is grey look at other possible biomechanical or biochemical solutions.

but you go ahead and keep it black and white. theres safety in simplicity.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by el_lagarto

i dont agree with your premise about RSIs. like most of your driv......errr opinions, you go for simplicity and black and white, forgetting the world is largely grey.


regarding ITBS..... the basic question comes to whether or not you BELIEVE that connective tissue is governed by the laws of physics. you seem to believe that the IT band is immune to these laws.

and stretching such tissue is not the end all be all of helping someone with ITBS, those of us who realize the world is grey look at other possible biomechanical or biochemical solutions.

but you go ahead and keep it black and white. theres safety in simplicity.

What sort of drivel are we talking about ? That tractor tire rubber is amenable to stretching ? When did I convey anything like that ? Oh, wait - you did!

You're being monitored here. Fair warning!

[el_lagarto]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

What sort of drivel are we talking about ? That tractor tire rubber is amenable to stretching ? When did I convey anything like that ? Oh, wait - you did!

You're being monitored here. Fair warning!

lol. have one on me , punchy.

[Dreamliner]

Now, granted, you can stretch it. Research has shown that you can stretch the Illiotibial Band ... wait for it - 2mm.

For illustrative purposes, 2mm is about this long: ...

But if stretching your Illiotibial Band ... doesn't help, you can always pummel tractor tire rubber with a styrofoam cylinder.

And if that doesn't work, as part of the global sort of approach that the great unwashed like myself are not sophisticated enough to appreciate, you can always use the equally scientific approach of blood-letting.

[fbgator27]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

RSI - Repetitive Strain Injury. Lots of us have them. My Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome would fit the bill. It's a highly technical term for "You have pain in the front of the knee and we don't have any idea what causes it."

Worse still, orthos, chiros and physios don't seem to know how to fix it.

The research is actually a little disturbing. RSI's are commonly thought to involve inflammation. That's not terribly daunting. Just ease up a couple of weeks, pop some NSAID's, etc.

But the research I've seen of late suggests something other than inflammation and something more akin to a dry rot. And the specific term that had a chilling effect:

Tissue Degeneration.

Almost has the ring of "It ain't necessarily coming back" to it. Sounds like a rupture or tear in the offing for the trainee who can't rein in the competitive instincts.

Thoughts ?

Here's the thing. There are plenty of good providers out there that know how to treat overuse type injuries. The problem is our needs as clients to want an instant fix. The fact is your "research of late" has been around for, oh about 80 years.
Histopathology is not some recent advance. A big part of our problem is bad information. The newspaper ad about the next biggest modality to help back pain, the article in a running magazine about the 5 best exercises for plantar fasciitis, or the idea that an injection or a pill will cure the root cause of a physical injury all keep us captivated that there is someone that can fix our problems with the snap of their fingers.

The reality is you cant classify everyone into one treatment group or miracle cure with these type injuries. You need to diagnose the cause of the injury and change the stress causing it.

If you have an injury that has been going on for more than a few days to two weeks and going to a provider that wants to give you steroids, ice, NSAIDs, or a few manipulations maybe you should consider going to see someone that is going to examine you a little more thoroughly and determine the real stressor causing your injury and help you change that.

Its just like being overweight. You want to lose weight so you cut carbs out or take some pill that supposedly increases your metabolism or have liposuction. Sure some of these things work in the short term but if you dont change your caloric intake/output your gonna keep gaining or maintaining weight.

And for the point on tissue degeneration. The body is capable of changing this fibrotic tissue.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by fbgator27

Here's the thing. There are plenty of good providers out there that know how to treat overuse type injuries. The problem is our needs as clients to want an instant fix. The fact is your "research of late" has been around for, oh about 80 years.
Histopathology is not some recent advance. A big part of our problem is bad information. The newspaper ad about the next biggest modality to help back pain, the article in a running magazine about the 5 best exercises for plantar fasciitis, or the idea that an injection or a pill will cure the root cause of a physical injury all keep us captivated that there is someone that can fix our problems with the snap of their fingers.

The reality is you cant classify everyone into one treatment group or miracle cure with these type injuries. You need to diagnose the cause of the injury and change the stress causing it.

If you have an injury that has been going on for more than a few days to two weeks and going to a provider that wants to give you steroids, ice, NSAIDs, or a few manipulations maybe you should consider going to see someone that is going to examine you a little more thoroughly and determine the real stressor causing your injury and help you change that.

Its just like being overweight. You want to lose weight so you cut carbs out or take some pill that supposedly increases your metabolism or have liposuction. Sure some of these things work in the short term but if you dont change your caloric intake/output your gonna keep gaining or maintaining weight.

And for the point on tissue degeneration. The body is capable of changing this fibrotic tissue.

The problem in a nutshell: whereas the research may have been around for 80 years ... who in the hell is conveying it ? No doctor I've seen. And no physio I've seen. In my experience, and based on what I read, the standard treatment for ITB is still stretch and/or roll the tractor tire. And for PFPS, inflict pain upon the pain site by way of TKE's.

[fbgator27]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

The problem in a nutshell: whereas the research may have been around for 80 years ... who in the hell is conveying it ? No doctor I've seen. And no physio I've seen. In my experience, and based on what I read, the standard treatment for ITB is still stretch and/or roll the tractor tire. And for PFPS, inflict pain upon the pain site by way of TKE's.

My point exactly. There is a difference between knowing the info and knowing what to do with it. You can learn about as much about tissue injury as you ever want to know in any entry level physiology class.

First of all if you are going to a primary care for treatment of a RSI thats akin to going to him for a cavity. Sure he knows the pathology behind the issue and can easily treat the symptoms with meds but knowing how to best treat a movement dysfunction most do not. On the other end of the spectrum say an ortho? Probably knows about the pathology of the tissue better than most medical or fitness professionals. But again is he the best at treating the gray area between acute tissue injury and tissue failure? Probably not.

Ok that leaves us with a large playing field with many players for the vast majority of injuries. I am not going to get into a turf war over who best to see. But if you are going to someone that is treating you with only exercises or strategies you can read on an internet page you are likely wasting your time. Sure, this catch all works for some. I would lean towards someone, regardless of profession, that is going to evaluate your condition in a very detailed yet comprehensive way. Like I said earlier find the cause of the tissue injury and treat that. If all runners had PFPS from a tight ITB dont you think we would all look the same running?

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by fbgator27

My point exactly. There is a difference between knowing the info and knowing what to do with it. You can learn about as much about tissue injury as you ever want to know in any entry level physiology class.

First of all if you are going to a primary care for treatment of a RSI thats akin to going to him for a cavity. Sure he knows the pathology behind the issue and can easily treat the symptoms with meds but knowing how to best treat a movement dysfunction most do not. On the other end of the spectrum say an ortho? Probably knows about the pathology of the tissue better than most medical or fitness professionals. But again is he the best at treating the gray area between acute tissue injury and tissue failure? Probably not.

Ok that leaves us with a large playing field with many players for the vast majority of injuries. I am not going to get into a turf war over who best to see. But if you are going to someone that is treating you with only exercises or strategies you can read on an internet page you are likely wasting your time. Sure, this catch all works for some. I would lean towards someone, regardless of profession, that is going to evaluate your condition in a very detailed yet comprehensive way. Like I said earlier find the cause of the tissue injury and treat that. If all runners had PFPS from a tight ITB dont you think we would all look the same running?

As far as I can tell the *cause* of the injury is the thing I'm not doing at present (due to pain): unilateral exercises.