UPPER-LIMB REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURIES IN MANITOBA

A review of workers' compensation board (WCB) claims inn Manitoba, Can ada identified an estimated 382 upper limb repetitive strain injury (R SI) claims or 9.3% of all upper limb WCB claims accepted in 1991. Tend onitis and carpal tunnel syndromes (CTS) were the most frequent diagno ses (27.5% and 19.3%, respectively). Rates of RSI were not significant ly different by gender and age. RSI claimants had been experiencing sy mptoms for an average of 8 months prior to filing a compensation claim . While clerical occupations accounted for 13.6% of all upper limb RSI claims, the rates for RSIs in these occupations were low (0.67/1,000 workers), in contrast to occupations with the highest RSI rates: food, beverage, and related processing occupations (14.68/1,000 workers) an d fabricating, assembling, and repairing of metal products (9.32/1,000 ). The highest risk industries were meat and poultry processing-relate d (23.48/1,000) and the manufacturing of airplanes (9.06/1,000). RSI c laims were significantly more costly ($5,569 vs. $2,480, p < 0.001) an d required more time loss (71.4 vs. 33.6 d, p < 0.001) than similar mu sculoskeletal non-RSI claims. Similarly, RSI claimants were less likel y to return to the same job (67.3% vs. 81.0%, p < 0.001) than non-RSI claimants. It was concluded that the cost and severity of RSI claims m ilitate for intensified preventive measures. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.