Sometimes symptoms can occur despite our best self-care and injury-prevention efforts. It's important to be able to recognize the early symptoms that can lead to injury, and treat them as quickly and effectively as possible, to keep them from turning into a full-fledge, even debilitating injury.

Here are some of the most common symptoms to be aware of:

• Pain/aches/twinges
• Inflammation/swelling/tenderness
• Any degree of loss of function of the part of the hand/arm
• A feeling of fullness/heaviness in the affected body part
• Tremors/twitching/uncoordinated movement
• Muscular weakness or fatigue
• Paresthesias (numbness/tingling)

You may have one or more of these

symptoms at a time; the presence of even one of these symptoms should be reason for concern. If you have any of these symptoms and they are more than mild and/or last for more than five days, seek attention from a health care provider who is licensed to diagnose and can rule out any more serious illness. Early and effective treatment makes it much more likely that your symptoms can resolve and you can stay in school or at work.

Reproduced with permission from Save Your Hands! The Complete Guide to Injury Prevention and Ergonomics for Manual Therapists, 2nd Edition by Lauriann Greene, CEAS and Richard W. Goggins, CPE, LMP, © 2008 Gilded Age Press, www.saveyourhands.com.