Within the work force, many workers are affected by RSIs

I wanted to find some more specifi information about the impact of wrist injuries in the labour fource.

aproximately ” 1. 1.8 million workers are afflicted by RSI’s per year: Almost 2 million US workers suffer from RSI’s like carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and tendinitis each year. [1] 600,000 workers take time off work each year to recuperate and treat their RSI. “

“ 1 in every 50 workers has RSI symptoms: According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), 1 in every 50 workers has reported experiencing RSI symptoms. [3] These numbers are even higher in industries like computer operation where the prevalence is as high as 1 in every 4 employees.”

Approximately 50% of people ” who work with computers suffer from RSI symptoms“

The wrist area is “the most common RSI trouble spot: A survey on RSI trouble spots found that wrist pain is the most common point of pain out of all RSI related injuries “:

  • Wrists – 69%
  • Fingers – 29%
  • Forearms – 23%
  • Thumbs – 20%

“Up to 23.8% more women complain of RSI symptoms compared to men: More women have poor office health compared to men. A workforce survey by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that 63.5% of women experience neck and shoulder pain while only 39.7% of men do. The same goes for back pain, which is more common in women (51.4%) than men (44%). “

” 33% of workers with RSI are below 45 years old: Surprisingly, about one-third of workers with RSI are under 45. [9] This number is quite high considering the fact that degeneration due to old age is still not yet a factor at that point.”

” 62.2% of young workers do repetitive motions at least 25% of their work time: Based on the European Survey on Working Conditions 2000 report, a majority of workers aged 15 to 24 years old are exposed to repetitive motions for at least a quarter of their work time. This can lay the foundation for developing RSI later in life.”

“34% of all lost workdays are due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders: The data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that work-related RSI’s are the most common reason for lost or restricted work time, accounting for more than a third of lost workdays. “

“Most injuries take an average of 9 days for full recovery while RSI’s require 23 days off work on average.”

Resources

Jon MullerI’m a mechanical engineer and founder of ErgonomicTrends.com. Good Form. Good Function. Good Health. (2020, October 12). 42 New Statistics on RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Every Worker Should Know. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from http://ergonomictrends.com/rsi-statistics/