The study of work behaviours and risks for occupational overuse syndrome.

Abstract

"Occupational overuse syndrome" is defined as the syndrome of work-related musculoskeletal disorders resulting from repetitive hand posture and motion. We looked at 867 employees in seven different factories to determine the groups suffering from trigger fingers, de Quervain's disease and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) from the period of January 2009 to November 2010. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were designated for the subjects in each group. We found the highest prevalence of the syndrome in the rate of CTS development. The differences in the hand spans and the grip strengths between the normal versus the diseased groups were statistically significant. The most common work patterns were a repetitive workload with the hand in a posture of a contracted grasping position. This accounted for 43.1% of the cases of trigger fingers, 38.1% in cases of CTS and this position with a contributing increased speed in the work pattern at 29.8% in the de Quervain's disease patients.