Home Treatment for Repetitive Stress Injury

Most doctors and therapists will recommend that after working your body too hard or after an acute injury, that you ice the affected area. Use a cold pack or ice cubes wrapped in a towel, and apply it for twenty minutes, they say. It’s meant to flush the inflammation and resulting stiffness away.

If you find that icing just makes you more stiff, or that it’s too painful, you might want to try using contrast water baths instead. This treatment essentially involves dunking your arms in cold and warm water, alternately, for several minutes. It’s a bit more involved than icing, but it is less likely to leave you stiff or weak. It’s often used in various physical therapy centers, but you can also do it at home. It worked wonders for me, so I recommend it highly if the other methods aren’t doing the trick.

How it helps:

• Helps increase circulation, while decreasing inflammation
• Relieves stiffness, tension and swelling
• Good for lower arms, wrists or even hands
• Recommended for repetitive stress injuries, broken fingers, and other injuries

What you will need:

• 15 minutes of your time
• a handy sink with hot and cold water
• 2 dishpans or other large containers you can stick your arms in
• a stopwatch, or clock with a second hand
• a towel to dry off

What to do:

• Fill one tub most of the way with warm water–not too hot (You want it to stimulate circulation, not shock your system)
• Fill one with cool, room-temperature water
• Set your watch for ten minutes, or note the time in your head
• Dunk your arms in the hot water for a full minute, then the cold for a full minute
• Trade off warm/cold each minute until you’ve reached ten minutes
• Make sure that you start in warm water, end in cool water
• Then, dry off and get back to life as usual.

Variations:
If you get bored or don’t have the time, you can try different strategies to see what works best:

• Try doing half of a minute of each temperature, instead of a full minute
• If you’re rushed for time, do 6 to 8 minutes instead of 10
• Try slowly stretching or moving your wrist or fingers while you’re in the warm water — but always rest during the cold water sections
• Do a “quickie” version while at work — go in the bathroom, run warm water over your forearm or hand for a minute, then cold water for a minute

Do this before or after work, or on the weekends; while you’re watching TV, listening to an audio book or music; while you stretch out your legs. Whatever works best for you.

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