Occupational Overuse Syndrome
Occupational overuse syndrome is a term that refers to any of a loose cluster of medical conditions that are a result of the overuse of some type of tool or instrument. An example of this could be a knife, computer or guitar. The truth is that occupational overuse syndrome may come from anything that will cause you to have to make repeated movements. Occupational overuse syndrome is a disorder that affects the nerves, muscles and tendons that are located in your upper back, arms and hands. This is a medically accepted disorder that is characterized by muscles in these parts of your body being kept tense for extremely long periods of time, which is the product of repetitive motions and/or poor posture. Occupational overuse syndrome is referred to in several other ways. This disorder is also known as cumulative trauma disorder, repetitive stress injury (RSI), repetitive strain injury or work related upper limb disorder (WRULD). The people who are most at risk for acquiring this syndrome are those whose job requires them to make the same repeated movements over a long period of time. It develops most of the time in assembly line workers, guitarists or computer workers. You may believe that occupational overuse syndrome is not really a serious disorder. Your may think that it is no more than a minor nuisance. However, it is no small, laughing matter. Consider this, occupational overuse syndrome is the disorder that is the reason for 34% of all lost-workday illness and injury. The annual cost caused by occupational overuse syndrome is $20 billion a year. It has also been estimated that $50 billion is lost by businesses every year because of medical costs, decreased productivity and sick leave that have all been linked to it. As has already been stated, occupational overuse syndrome is the result of making repeated motions over a long, extended period of time. Psychological and social factors may also play a role in contributing to the occurrence of this syndrome. In fact, instead of just having a part in leading to this disorder, some researchers believe that stress is the principle cause of a large number of pain signs and symptoms that have usually been attributed to the disorder. There are some risk factors that may increase your likelihood of developing occupational overuse syndrome. Some of these are:- Awkward work movements and postures
- Repetitive movement
- Workstations or equipment that are poorly designed
- Pain or soreness that recurs in your neck, upper back, shoulders, hands or wrist
- Weakness, a loss of gripping strength and a lack of endurance
- Pain or numbness when you are lying in bed
- The muscles in your shoulders and arms feeling wiry and hard to the touch
- A loss of sensation, tingling, coldness or numbness in your affected area
Related articles
- Repetitive strain injury(RSI) (findmeacure.com)
