A repetitive strain injury can develop any time you do the same activity over and over again. Due to the nature of these injuries, it’s not uncommon for people to develop them while they are at work. If you’re a maritime worker who is dealing with the pain and stress that comes with a repetitive strain injury, a dedicated maritime injury lawyer from our Snohomish County law firm may be able to assist you.
What Body Parts Can Be Affected By a Repetitive Strain Injury?
A number of body parts are susceptible to these types of injuries. A repetitive strain injury tends to crop up in the joints, limbs, and appendages that you use to perform your work every day. We help clients with injuries to their elbows, hands, fingers, knees, wrists, and other body parts.
Any of these injuries can make it harder to do your job and cause pain outside of work too. You need to address these injuries before they lead to worse health outcomes, like the development of stress fractures or cysts. A repetitive strain injury that affects your back could even lead to spine problems like herniated discs.
What Are Symptoms of a Repetitive Strain Injury?
A repetitive strain injury will make itself known with various aches and pains, even when you’re resting and not performing any motions that would seem likely to set it off. Common symptoms include:
- Stiffness
- Weakness
- Tingling, pins-and-needles feeling
- Swelling
- Sensitivity to heat or cold
- Burning or throbbing pains
How Can I Treat My RSI?
In many cases, resting the affected area can help treat a repetitive stress injury. That can be combined with other treatments, including:
- Using hot or cold packs
- Pain rubs
- Physical therapy
- Steroid injections
- Compression
- Surgery
You also have to be careful about resting for too long, as that can make the affected body parts weaker. This is why it’s important to seek out help as soon as you can.
Can I Recieve Benefits If I Developed My Injury At Work?
It can be difficult to get the medical treatments that you need when you’re working all day, and this is especially true for maritime workers who might work long shifts or shifts with odd hours. That is why you should report your injury to your employer so that you can receive benefits and take some time to address it.
You should be entitled to maintenance and cure benefits. These help with your living expenses and medical treatment costs. If you believe that negligence of your employer contributed to your injuries, you may be able to sue for additional benefits under the Jones Act. Our lawyers can tell you more about your options.
Talk to a Maritime Injury Lawyer
So if you think that you should receive benefits due to your work injuries, we will do everything that we can to help you. Contact Amy C Brown Law, PLLC and ask to schedule an initial consultation. We would be happy to tell you more about how we can be of assistance.
