Conservative treatment for repetitive strain injury

Various conservative treatment options for repetitive strain injury are wid ely used, despite questionable evidence of their effectiveness. This system atic review evaluates the effectiveness of these treatment options for reli eving symptoms of repetitive strain injury and improving activities of dail y living. Searches in Medline and Embase, with additional reference checkin g resulted in 15 eligible trials for this review. Methodological quality wa s assessed, and data-extraction was performed. With the use of a "best-evid ence synthesis", no strong evidence was found for the effectiveness of any of the treatment options. There is limited evidence that multidisciplinary rehabilitation, ergonomic intervention measures, exercises, and spinal mani pulation combined with soft tissue therapy are effective in providing sympt om relief or improving activities of daily living. There is conflicting evi dence for the effectiveness of behavioral therapy. In conclusion, little is known about the effectiveness of conservative treatment options for repeti tive strain injury. To establish strong evidence, more high-quality trials are needed.