No matter what your job is, what hobbies or habits you endorse; everyone is at risk of developing repetitive stress injuries. Any movement repeated often enough will eventually cause damage. Whether it is a mal-postured chair, a wrongly adjusted computer screen or even sitting still in a certain position for a prolonged period of time causes muscles , tendons or nerves to become irritated or inflamed, thus, causing various forms of repetitive  stress injuries (RSI) like bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis.

"In the past years the science of ergonomics has developed quickly to deal with such a vital health and lifestyle-related issue, because everybody, indeed, is at risk; whatever their age, gender or profession - even housewives," says Dr Mohamed Mortada EL-Zahed, consultant in physiotherapy and sport medicine.

"The most common types of injuries occur because people maintain an awkward or stationary position for a long time, or perform a repetitive task that involves small, rapid movements without taking breaks or rests. That’s why it is most common among those sitting in front of computers for prolonged hours, construction workers and those whose jobs involve monotonous movements, like scooping, packing, assembling."

He emphasises, also, that these hazards apply to a great extent on athletes and musicians, adding that each profession has a most common set of complaints, for example dentists usually complain from tendons in their hands or necks, surgeons from their backs, drivers from legs and backs and sometimes even the kidneys can be affected, etc.

"The apparent symptom is the pain that usually occurs in wrists, hands or back and it can start after the prolonged movement had stopped or it could occur during performing the motion, and it can start by being mildly irritating and escalate to a crippling pain, making it difficult even to stretch arms and legs or pick up stuff," says Dr Randa Hebeishi, lecturer in physiotherapy, Al-Azhar University.

Dr Hebeishi insists that prevention is always preferred over treatment, and the optimum way to avoid such aches is not to remain in any position for more than twenty minutes.

If it is absolutely necessary to remain in one position or perform repetitive motions for a long time, then it is of utmost importance to stretch before and take several breaks every now and then.

She furthermore emphasises that keeping physically fit and focusing on getting rid of bad habits, like slouching, could protect the person from strain.

As for treatment, the focus is usually is on physical therapy.

"Using painkillers or cortisone injections is one of the least preferred options. We would rather focus [first] on rest and avoiding the activity or the position that causes the problem, or maybe sometimes applying an arm or wrist wrap to immobilise the affected area. Then physical therapy, if needed, rather than just referring the patient to a neurosurgeon," assures Dr Hebeshei.

Alternatively, nature can support the road to recovery: vitamins E, C, Omega-3 and others are said to reduce small-scale inflammation. While these you can easily get from food, the short-term regular boost of vitamin pills may help after a bad RSI spell. Furthermore, adding a common spice, such as turmeric and ginger to your food in a few exotic nights of Asian cuisine can also help.

Dr El-Zahed focuses on the importance of consulting a physiotherapist or an ergonomics expert to make sure that the environment where the repeated movement is performed (such as work or your hobby) is well-adjusted to avoid occurrence of RSI, especially if the person works in an office or in front of computer screen.

Of course, he also stresses the importance of raising awareness of these types of health problems that actually affect every single person in one way or another.