Home Treatment for Repetitive Stress Injury

Ah, the holidays, a time of great shopping, wrapping, baking, eating — and dish washing. If that’s all done you can sit back and relax, but even if you have a mountain of dishes ahead of you, you can be thankful.

I despise dish washing, but have found a bright healthy lining under all those piles of sticky, crusty pans and bowls. Washing dishes can actually be a good therapy for anyone who has arthritis, carpal tunnel, tendonitis, even tennis elbow– moving your hands/arms around under warm water stimulates your circulation, and colder water helps relieve swelling.

Start with warm water –not very hot, or it could actually be a shock to your system instead of beneficial. Run your hands around under the water, soap up your dishes. If it’s the elbow that’s affected, try to get your upper forearm warm too.

Before your rinse the dishes, turn the water to room temperature or a little colder. Wash your dishes in the warm water — just make sure the warm water isn’t too hot, and the cold water is more room-temperature than freezing.

After you’re finished, roll your wrists and flex your fingers –do they feel a little more flexible, or less stiff? That’s because you’ve just completed a simple version of a contrast hydrotherapy treatment.

I hope this tip works for you, and makes doing all those dishes a little easier. Take care, and we wish you a healthy, happy holidays from RSIHealer.com!

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1. Contrast Baths — Relieve Stiffness, Swelling and Pain without Ice
2. Paraffin Wax Therapy –Directions for Relieving Pain and Stiffness — Part 2 of 2
3. Wear Gloves to Stay Warm While Typing
4. Beat the Heat, and The Air Conditioning
5. About Paraffin Wax Baths –Part 1 of 2