London Researchers Aim to Revolutionise Treatment of Repetitive Strain Injury
A team of London researchers is hoping to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of repetitive strain injury and other painful rheumatic conditions affecting the upper limbs - by using ultra sound imaging.
"Upper limb disorders" including neck pain and RSI are among the most common work-related ailments, affecting millions of European workers. According to recently published research, the problem is getting worse.
Now the team at University College London, in Gower Street, is to investigate how nerves move, and become trapped, using high frequency ultra-sound. Their work is being funded by a two-year grant of £115,548 from medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign.
"Nerves move and lengthen in response to changes in posture and limb position," explained Jane Greening, Research Fellow in UCL's physiology department. "When a nerve is trapped it loses this ability, leading to pain, and loss of function.
"We plan to develop novel methods for the accurate measurements of nerve movement, and to apply these methods to patients with upper limb disorders. These methods will also be used to validate existing clinical tests for nerve mobility.
"If we can develop a cost-effective way of assessing upper limb disorders such as RSI using ultra sound imaging, it will revolutionise diagnosis in this difficult area."
Factors that contribute to upper limb disorders include poor posture, particularly concerning the shoulder and wrist, and carrying out highly repetitive movement of the hand or hand-arm vibration.
RSI has always been a controversial condition, as in the past psychological factors have been thought to play a part. The Arthritis Research Campaign and the Health and Safety Executive are already jointly funding a two-year study of 16,000 people at the University of Southampton, which aims to provide Britain's most comprehensive picture of the frequency of upper limb disorders, and their impact and relation to work.
