Life Insurance With Repetitive Strain Injury
RSI is a genuinely useful phrase in everyday life and a vague one on an application.
It tells us how something happened, repetitive loading at work, and not what it actually is. Two people describing RSI may have completely different conditions with different treatments.
So the job of this page is mostly to send you to the right one.
The short answer
Repetitive strain injury is a description of a cause rather than a diagnosis. Underneath it sit specific conditions: carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, tenosynovitis, tennis elbow and others, each with its own name, its own treatment and its own place in a medical record. Finding out which you have is the single most useful thing you can do before filling in a form.
What it is
Repetitive strain injury, also called work-related upper limb disorder, is an umbrella term for pain and dysfunction in the muscles, tendons and nerves of the arms and hands caused or aggravated by repetitive activity, sustained posture or force.
The specific conditions underneath it include carpal tunnel syndrome, where a nerve is compressed at the wrist; tendonitis and tenosynovitis, inflammation of a tendon or its sheath; de Quervain's tenosynovitis at the base of the thumb; tennis and golfer's elbow; and non-specific forearm pain where no single structure is identified.
Why it comes up on an application
- A specific diagnosis is far more informative than the umbrella term, so the first job is establishing whether you were given one.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome in particular has its own investigation and treatment path, including nerve conduction studies, splints, injection and surgery, and it already has a page of its own here.
- Nerve conduction studies are a specific test and are worth naming if you had them.
- Surgery is common at the persistent end for carpal tunnel and de Quervain's, and an operation is a clear entry with a date.
- The occupational link is in the name, so whether it has affected your work is a real question, especially for keyboard-based and assembly work.
- Where no specific diagnosis was ever made, saying so plainly is accurate and is a complete answer.
What we would ask you
- Whether you were given a specific diagnosis, and what it was
- Which part of the arm or hand is affected, and when it started
- Whether you have had nerve conduction studies, an injection or surgery
- Whether it has affected your work or made you change what you do
- Whether it has settled, recurred, or is ongoing
- Whether you are currently off work or working reduced hours because of an accident, injury or illness
- Whether you are waiting on any medical tests, appointments or treatment
- Whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the last five years
- Whether a parent, brother or sister was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or a stroke before 65
- Any medication you take
- Whether you smoke, and your date of birth
Find Out What You Actually Have
This is the whole point of the page, so it is worth being direct about.
Writing RSI on a form is like writing "chest pain" rather than the diagnosis. It describes the experience and leaves out the information. Carpal tunnel syndrome, de Quervain's tenosynovitis and non-specific forearm pain are three different entries with different tests and different treatments, and the first of those has a nerve test and often an operation attached to it.
If a doctor gave you a name, use the name. If you had nerve conduction studies, say so, because that is a specific investigation. If nobody ever landed on a diagnosis, say that too: it is accurate, it is common, and it is a complete answer rather than a gap.
Why This Is An Income Protection Page As Much As Anything
RSI is unusual among the conditions on this site in that its definition includes the cause, and the cause is work.
That makes it the clearest possible example of why the policy definition matters. Somebody whose forearms will not tolerate a keyboard for more than twenty minutes is perfectly able to do a great many jobs, which is exactly what an any occupation definition will conclude. An own occupation definition asks whether you can do the job you actually hold.
For a software developer, a machinist or anybody doing assembly work, that distinction is the difference between a policy that responds and one that does not. It is worth asking about before you buy rather than after.
Which cover is relevant
The cover this condition is really about. RSI is defined by its relationship to work, and severe cases genuinely stop people doing keyboard or assembly work while leaving them able to do other jobs.
The usual starting point for protection generally. An upper limb condition is rarely a factor in what is available.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and RSI is not one. Worth having for the risks it does cover.
Common questions
Is RSI a diagnosis?+
Not really. It is an umbrella term describing pain in the arms and hands caused by repetitive activity. Underneath it sit specific conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and de Quervain's tenosynovitis, each with its own name and treatment. Finding out which you have is the useful step.
What should I put on the form?+
The specific diagnosis if you were given one, plus any nerve conduction studies, injections or surgery. If nobody ever landed on a specific diagnosis, say that plainly: it is accurate and common, and it is a complete answer.
I had carpal tunnel surgery. Is that RSI?+
Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the conditions that sits under the RSI umbrella, and it has its own page here. On a form, say carpal tunnel syndrome and say you had surgery, with roughly when. That is far more informative than RSI.
Why does the policy definition matter so much for RSI?+
Because somebody whose arms cannot sustain a keyboard is still employable in plenty of roles, so an any occupation policy is likely to find them fit for work. Own occupation asks whether you can do your own job, which is the question that matters if your job is typing or assembly.
It was caused by my work. Does that change anything?+
For income protection it matters, because a condition caused by your daily work tends to recur as long as you keep doing it. For life cover it is less likely to be the deciding factor, and in either case the decision belongs to the insurer.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.