Nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States Part III - injuries tothe upper extremities

This is the third part of the three-part paper on nonfatal occupational inj uries in the United States. This part focuses on injuries to the upper extr emities. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics were used to examine inju ry statistics to different regions of the upper extremities including the a rms, the fingers, and the wrists. Injuries to these different regions of th e upper extremities are categorized by common measures of magnitude such as the number of cases and the incidence rates; by major US industrial classi fications; by different types of events or exposures such as contact with o bjects, slip and fall accidents, overexertion injuries, etc.; by different sources of injuries such as parts or materials, worker motion, healthcare p atient, etc.; by different US occupations such as service, technical, sales and administrative support, etc.; by age of the injured; by ethnic origin of the injured; by gender of the injured; by length of service of the injur ed with the employer; and by the number of lost workdays. Relevance to industry This paper provides focused information on the upper extremity injuries in the United States. Knowledge of upper extremity injury trends is essential for instituting efforts to control them. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.