CHARACTERIZING PHYSICAL STRAIN IN NON-ROUTINIZED CLINICAL WORK THROUGH OBSERVATION: AN EXAMPLE OF ORAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS.

The Revised Strain Index (RSI), despite its prevalence in ergonomics field practice, is designed to assess jobs with cyclic and predictable physical and behavioral patterns. The quantification of exertion force, posture, and work task duration is substantially more challenging for non-routinized work in clinical and hospital environments. Using dental hygiene work as an exemplar, we proposed a consolidated method to characterize physical exertion for non-routinized work.

Is there a u-shaped relationship between load levels and fatigue and recovery? An examination of possible mechanisms.

In a previous study, an unexpected u-shaped relationship was observed between load level and fatigue/recovery responses. Moderate load levels resulted in lower perceived discomfort, pain, and fatigue, and shorter recovery times compared to either low or high load levels. This phenomenon has been reported in other studies, but no article has examined the possible mechanisms that might explain this u-shaped relationship.

Occupational risk factors for work disability following carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled prospective study.

Background: Although recent studies have identified important risk factors associated with incident carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), risk factors associated with its severity have not been well explored.

Objective: To examine the associations between personal, workplace psychosocial and biomechanical factors and incident work disability among workers with CTS.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2010 five research groups conducted coordinated prospective studies of CTS and related work disability among US workers from various industries.

Validation of the Revised Strain Index for Predicting Risk of Incident Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in a Prospective Cohort.

The Revised Strain Index (RSI), a model that quantifies physical exposure from individual hand/wrist exertions, tasks, and multi-task jobs, was used to quantify exposure for 1372 incident-eligible manufacturing, service and healthcare workers. Workers were followed for an average of 2.5 years (maximum 6 years) and had an average carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) incidence rate of 4.