NIOSH testimony on carpal tunnel syndrome by B. L. Johnson, June 8, 1984.

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  This testimony concerned NIOSH research on carpal tunnel syndrome as an occupational disorder. The name, carpal tunnel, derives from the 8 bones in the wrist called carpals which form a tunnel like structure. The tunnel contains tendons which control finger movement and provide a pathway for the median nerve to reach sensory cells in the hand. Nerve compression results from various conditions. Repeated flexing and extension of the wrist causes the tendons to swell and thereby increases pressure in the bony tunnel which can pinch or trap the median nerve. Job tasks which involve highly repetitive manual acts or necessitate wrist bending or other stressful wrist postures, are connected with incidents of carpal tunnel syndrome or related problems. Patients suffering from this syndrome lack the ability to sense cold or hot by touch and experience an apparent loss of strength in their fingers. Treatment may involve surgery or the use of antiinflammatory drugs. However, success in treatment has been limited. Jobs which have been identified as causing carpal tunnel syndrome have included the assembly of small parts and the manual inspection of manufactured products. Control measures focus on relieving excessive wrist deviations and arm and hand movements requiring force. Some tools have been redesigned. Other recommendations include the modification of work stations and the use of fixtures to mount work at angles and reduce the need for the worker's hand to bend at the wrist. NIOSH studies of postal worker jobs and letter sorting machine operations were described.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Automobiles Isocyanates Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Polyurethanes Safety Vinyl Chloride Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Carpal-tunnel-syndrome Cumulative-trauma-disorders Hand-injuries Hand-tools Johnson-B-L Musculoskeletal-system-disorders NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Testimony Postal-employees
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Testimony
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00192313
• Citation:
  NIOSH 1984 Jun; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• NORA Priority Area:
  Musculoskeletal-system-disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6d4701d739681a0632cb0c639dae84671af996ca9fef61783c2341a49108572975911078d9b3e51f07476470dd7e86c3740f7c1cf945ed8ebce5f7b2855265bb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180306/cdc_180306_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 317.27 KB ]