Skip to main content
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
Recognition and Prevention in the
Workplace
Objectives
By the end of this class final year should
able to know:
 What is cumulative trauma disorder?
 Causes of cumulative trauma disorders
 Common WMSD’s
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
 Cumulative = occurring gradually over a
period of weeks, months, or years
 Trauma = bodily injury to nerves, tissues,
tendons, or joints
 Disorders = physical ailments or abnormal
conditions
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
 Bodily injuries or physical ailments
that have developed gradually over
periods of weeks, months, or even
years as the result of repeated stresses
on a particular body part
What are aliases for WMSDs?
 Work-related MSDs go by many other names:
– Repetitive Strain or Stress Injury (RSI)
– Repetitive Motion Injury (RMI)
– Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD)
– Overuse Syndrome
– Activity-related Pain Syndrome
Causes of CTD’s
Usually caused by a combination of following
risk factors:
 Repetitive motions
 Forceful exertions - pulling, pushing, lifting,
and gripping
 Awkward postures
 Static postures - body positions held
without moving
Causes of CTD’s
 Mechanical compression of soft tissues in the
hand against edges or ridges
 Fast movement of body parts
 Vibration especially in the presence of cold
conditions
 Mental stress
 Lack of sufficient recovery time (rest breaks,
days off)
Common CTD’s
Upper Body
– Tension Neck Syndrome
– Rotator Cuff Syndrome
– Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)
– Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer’s Elbow)
– Tendinitis
– Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
– DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis
– Trigger Finger
– Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome
Common CTD’s
Lower Body
– Low Back Pain
– Back Strain
– Disc Disorder
– Degenerative Disc Disorders
– Sciatica
– Knee Disorders
– Foot Disorders
Clinical symptoms of MSDs
• Continuous general
weakness
• Restrictions of movements
• Sleep disturbances
• Other physical &
psychological problems
• Discomfort continues
• Sleep disturbances
• Limitation of work
• Pain
• Tiredness
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Discomfort
• Stiffness in joints
• Weakness
• Swelling
• Burning
• Loss of functions
A FEW SOLUTIONS...
 Reduce manual material handling
– Pre-Plan material drops
– Utilize material handling equipment
– Keep materials in “neutral zone”
 Equipment
– Use the right tool for the job
– Evaluate new tools for ergonomics
– Keep sharp & in good repair
– Use vibration dampening tools / gloves
 Reduce Duration
– Mini-breaks
– Multi-task
– Employee rotation/job share
Common CTD’s
 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-Injury to
the median nerve.
 Tendonitis-Swelling of the tendons.
 Tenosynovitis-Swelling in tendon
sheath.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 Definition
– Compression neuropathy of the median nerve at
the wrist
Palmar
aponeurosis
Median nerve
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 Pain and Paresthesias on palmar-radial
aspect of hand
 Often worse at night
 Risk factors
– Intrinsic
– extrinsic
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 Intrinsic risk factors
– Anatomic variants
» Either decreased dimension of carpal tunnel or
increased volume of its contents
– Physiologic variants
» Diabetes , alcoholism , smoking , pregnancy ,
rheumatoid arthritis , myxedema
» All associated with edema
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 Extrinsic factors
– Hand position
– Forceful use of hand
– Repetitive motion
– Vibration
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 MRI has shown that wrist flexion
compresses the median nerve between
flexor retinaculum and tendons
 Minimizing wrist flexion/extension by
redesign of tools helps reduce CTS
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
 Forceful use of hand
 Repetitive motion is a risk factor for hand
pain BUT not specifically for CTS
 No correlation between hours of keyboard
work and CTS
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
and Vibration
 Hand-arm vibration syndrome
– Raynaud’s , sensory changes
– Digital nerves mainly
– Often misdiagnosed as CTS
 Definite dose-response relationship
– >50% incidence with >8000 hrs.
 Carpal tunnel release does not help
Dequervain’s Tendonitis
 Tendon entrapment not tenosynovitis
 Analogous to trigger finger
 APL & EPB tendons
 Peritendinous fibrosis not inflammation
Dequervain’s Tendonitis
Dequervain’s Tendonitis
 No reports that relate incidence of
Dequervain’s to frequency or intensity of
repetitive work
 Tender over radial styloid
 Finklestein’s test
Finklestein’s test
Dequervain’s Tendonitis
Treatment
 Splinting
 Rest
 NSAIDS ?
 Steroid injection - 80% success
 Surgery
Tennis elbow
Lateral epicondylitis
 Angiofibroblastic tendinosis
– Not inflammatory
– ?avascular or degenerative etiology
– ECRB origin
Tennis elbow
Lateral epicondylitis
Tennis elbow
Lateral epicondylitis
 Associated with repetitive use
– Occupational
– Sports
– Musicians
 Tender over lateral epicondyle
 Pain on resisted wrist extension
Tennis elbow
Treatment
 “comfort and cure”
 NSAIDS
 Steroid injection
 Rehab program – 4 months !!
 Rest
Impingement Syndromes
• Subacromial bursitis
• Rotator cuff tendonitis
• Bicipital tendonitis
• AC arthritis
• Rotator cuff tear
Impingement Syndrome
Impingement syndrome
• Repetitive overhead use of arm
• Swimmers,pitchers
• painful arc
• impingement signs
• decreased ROM active vs. passive
• pain with resisted motion
Impingement : treatment
• Avoidance of offending activity
• Physiotherapy
• NSAIDS
• Corticosteroid injection
• Surgery : Subacromial decompression
Recognize The Warning Signs
Warning Signs
 Numbness and tingling in first three fingers
 Clumsy feeling in your hand
 Pain going up into the elbow or shoulder
 Pain is worse at night
SEE A DOCTOR
IMMEDIATELY and use….
Alternative Work Methods
 Evaluate Work Area
 Take Periodic rests
and Stretch
 Awkward positions
caused by certain
items and work
practices in can be
prevented.
 Trying to do too much
at one time can cause
muscles to tire and
cause injury
Environment Adjustment
 Replace Existing Equipment-The desks
should have rounded edges to reduce
possible pressure points. The chairs need
the arm height and chair height to be
adjustable, and give back support by having
a tilt adjustment.
Environment Adjustment
Add Accessories to Existing Equipment-
 Wrist rests- help to promote a neutral wrist
position
 An adjustable document holder - promote the
proper head angle
 A seat cushion- helps to support the back
 A footrest- helps to keep thighs parallel to the
ground and promote good posture
Education, New Equipment and
Preventative Measures
All Add Up To A Safer and
Ergonomically Correct Work
Environment
Cummulative Trauma Disorder exp ined ppt