Advocating For Workers Suffering From Repetitive Stress Injuries

Are you experiencing persistent pain from repeating the same motions at work? The ache in your muscles and joints isn’t just a nuisance – it’s your body signaling that something is wrong. Repetitive stress injuries can be devastating, affecting not only your ability to work but also your quality of life. You may be wondering if you’ll ever feel normal again or if you’ll be able to continue in your chosen career.

Our team at Noack Law Office understands your concerns and the challenges you’re facing. Our attorneys are here to help guide you through the complex world of workers’ compensation for repetitive stress injuries. With our extensive experience and dedication to our clients, we can guide you toward the compensation you deserve and help you focus on your recovery.

Symptoms Of Repetitive Strain Injuries

The symptoms of RSIs can vary greatly depending on the affected area and the severity of the condition. Symptoms commonly include:

• Pain: The primary symptom of many RSIs is constant pain in the affected muscles, tendons and nerves. The pain can be localized or radiated to nearby areas and can range from mild but persistent discomfort to excruciating pain with or without movement.
• Loss of strength: Workers with RSIs often notice a significant decrease in strength in the affected body part, especially when the injury involves their hands, arms or shoulders.
• Numbness and tingling: When nerve damage is involved, workers may experience “pins and needles” or numbness after any activity involving the affected joints.
• Stiffness or limited range of motion: Affected joints can become swollen and stiff, reducing a worker’s range of motion and flexibility.
• Swelling and inflammation: This can become particularly noticeable around elbows, wrists, knees and hands.

Symptoms generally improve with rest and flare again with activity.

Common Examples Of Repetitive Stress Injuries

Many people only have a passing familiarity with a few kinds of repetitive stress injuries, but there are many, including:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome: This occurs when the median nerve is compressed at the wrist and primarily affects the thumb, index and middle fingers.
• Cubital tunnel syndrome: This occurs when the ulnar nerve by the elbow is compressed and leads to numbness and pain in the ring and little fingers.
• Trigger finger: This causes the affected finger, usually the index or the thumb, to freeze in a bent position due to inflammation in the tendon.
• Bursitis: This is inflammation of the bursa or the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the knee joint.
• Rotator cuff injuries: These are the tendons that support shoulder movements and can lead to tears in the cartilage ring, stiffness, and limited range of motion.
• Myofascial pain syndrome: This is a chronic pain disorder affecting trigger points in back muscles, leading to localized pain and stiffness.

Any condition caused by overuse of a body part is likely to be classified as an RSI.

Experienced Representation Across Diverse Industries

At Noack Law Office, we have more than 80 years of combined experience helping individuals receive the compensation they deserve after workplace accidents. Our attorneys have worked with individuals throughout Minnesota who suffer from repetitive stress injuries caused by:

• Meatpacking jobs
• Mixing cement
• Butcher work
• Construction work
• Lifting
• Packing
• Cutting

Repetitive stress injuries can arise from a wide range of occupations and tasks. Whether you’re working in construction, manufacturing, food processing or an office environment, these injuries can develop over time and significantly impact your life.

Our attorneys at Noack Law Office are well-versed in the various causes of repetitive stress injuries across different industries. We can help you identify the root cause of your injury, gather the necessary evidence and build a strong case for your workers’ compensation claim. Our goal is to ensure you receive the medical care and financial support you need to recover and move forward.

What Are Gillette Injuries?

Most people are familiar with the term “repetitive stress injuries.” But what about Gillette injuries? The term Gillette injuries is synonymous with repetitive stress injuries, and the term was named after a Minnesota Supreme Court case that decided that work-related injuries that are caused by repetitive motions are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

What Parts Of The Body Are Commonly Involved In Repetitive Stress Injuries?

Repetitive stress injuries (or “Gillette injuries”) typically affect an injured worker’s joints in some way, since that is where the strain of repetitive motions, excessive force and sustained positions typically shows. The most frequently affected areas tend to include:

• Hands and wrists: Conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome and tendinitis are common with workers who use their hands and wrists for gripping, twisting, typing and many other repeated work activities.
• Elbows: Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) are two common conditions related to repetitive arm motions and constant flexing or gripping activities that put strain on the inner or outer muscles around that joint.
• Shoulders: Rotator cuff injuries are associated with repeated overhead motions, which can lead to small tears in the muscles that control shoulder movement, as well as inflammation in the bursal sacs (bursitis).
• Neck: Cervical strain can be a much bigger problem than many workers realize, and is often caused by work that requires someone to stay hunched over a conveyor belt, desk or work table. It can also be caused by repetitive head movements, such as when a worker is on an assembly line and has to track the movement of objects.
• Back: Constant bending, lifting and twisting motions can cause serious strain on muscles in the lower back, and can even lead to dislocated vertebrae or slipped discs in the back. Spinal disc herniation, which affects the discs between vertebrae, can cause significant pain and weakness.
• Knees: Kneeling, squatting and twisting can lead to tears in the meniscus, bursitis, tendonitis and patellofemoral pain syndrome around the kneecaps, among other injuries.
• Fingers: Some of the most common RSIs occur in people’s fingers. “Trigger finger,” for example, is caused by swelling in a finger that is used constantly for gripping or pinching, typing or with power tools, and the affected finger can catch or “lock” into a bent position.

An attorney can help you identify whether your RSI is work-related and advocate for your benefits if the insurer questions the validity of your claim.

Contact An Experienced Hennepin County Attorney

Because everybody is different, there is no ruling about how long you need to have been in your job to be eligible for compensation for a repetitive stress injury. Some people may suffer injuries after a few days of working, while others may perform the same job for decades without incident.

Regardless of how long you’ve been in your position, we can help ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. Learn more about the legal counsel an experienced lawyer can provide by scheduling your free initial consultation. Our Minneapolis/St. Paul offices can be reached online or by phone at 952-467-8481.

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