With so many of the myriad of injuries that fall under the umbrella of occupational overuse, the treatment process tends to start from when the individual finds that they can’t tolerate the symptoms they are reporting. These symptoms often manifest themselves in the neck, shoulders, thoracic back, arms and hand or, in the worst case scenario, all of the above.
The standard treatment approach is to diagnose these symptoms as an acute condition, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The key to treating all occupational overuse conditions is identifying the “under-utilised muscle groups” with specific stretching and activation exercises, while crucially lengthening the “over-utilised muscle groups”. These will have contracted over many years of neglect. They are often responsible for the individual’s poor postural presentation as a result of constant pressure being applied to the cervical spine, due to the trapezius muscle groups contracting in an upward manner.
This isolation effect needs to be rectified with the introduction of specific compounding movement patterns that make the under-utilised and over utilised muscle groups work in a coordinated manner. At FTM we achieve this by introducing sequential stretching and activation exercises. This makes illogical movement patterns logical and identifiable, creates postural awareness and gives people the tools to activate and recruit all the required muscle groups - the precursor to any strengthening exercises being introduced.
Priscilla was fortunate that her workplace utilises FTM’s postural awareness program. It provides Priscilla and her work colleagues with access to a sequential stretching and activation device, Upper Limber. FTM has developed and patented this device, which has the unique ability to rectify these posture-related imbalances. It also helps users to identify and prevent the onset of the chronic OOS conditions that plague those of us in sedentary occupations.
For desk workers, the small muscle groups of the hand and forearms tend to do all the work. There’s little to no input from the larger posture-related muscle groups that are supposed to offer the spine a necessary degree of support, maintaining logical signal patterns and allowing normal neuromuscular function.
Priscilla was a very motivated person and was keen to learn the functional movement-based processes, allowing her to overcome her bilateral de quervains tenosynovitis occupational overuse injury. It cannot be overstated just how important it is to be actively involved in your own treatment. This is the catalyst to changing those adverse movement-based habits that most people are unaware of. This was the single biggest lesson for Priscilla, who found herself in a situation where she was initially told what her condition was but was somewhat lost as to how to implement the appropriate treatment strategies to deal with it.
I am fortunate that the Australian National University has implemented the Upper Limber program at my workplace
In 2013 I was referred to an eight-week FTM program for the treatment of my bilateral de quervains tenosynovitis occupational overuse injury that was the result of excessive computer usage.
I am fortunate that the Australian National University has implemented the Upper Limber program at my workplace, which treats and prevents occupational overuse injuries from occurring and is conveniently located in the workplace. I have been pain-free and actively able to engage in my workplace duties and extracurricular activities thanks to FTM and the Upper Limber Injury Prevention and Management Program.
