Ergonomics: applying science to job design - includes related article - Cover Story

Prepared Foods, April, 1993

* The total compensable cost for low back pain cases in the U.S. was $11.1 billion in 1986.

The ABCs of CTDs

* The most common occupational diseases associated with CTDs are tendon disorders such as tendinitis, tenosynovitis, De Quervain's disease, trigger finger, Raynaud's syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

* Tendinitis: A form of tendon inflammation that occurs when a muscle or tendon is repeatedly tensed from overuse or unaccustomed usage of the wrist and shoulder.

* Tenosynovitis: An inflammation or injury to the synovial sheath surrounding the tendon.

* De Quervain's disease: An inflammation of the tendon sheath of the thumb caused by excessive friction between two thumb tendons and their common sheath.

* Trigger finger: A tendon disorder attributed to the creation of a groove in the flexing tendon of the finger.

* Raynaud's syndrome: Also called white finger, the illness occurs when the blood vessels of the hand are damaged as a result of repeated exposure to vibration for long periods of time.

* Carpal tunnel syndrome: Affecting the wrist and hands, CTS is the compression and entrapment of the median nerve where it passes through the wrist into the hand--in the carpal tunnel. When irritated, tendons housed in the narrow carpal tunnel swell and press against the nearby median nerve, resulting in pain, tingling, or numbness.