Cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) is defined as
musculoskeletal disorders that can result from the body's inability to heal itself from the long-term effects of repetitive motion, exposure to vibration, and/or mechanical stress
As technology and other innovations invade our offices, a secretary or an accountant can suffer injuries - often without leaving their desks. During the last decade, an occupational illness identified as cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) has been occurring in epidemic proportions.
The best known of cumulative trauma disorders potentially disabling injuries is carpal tunnel syndrome, a cumulative, or gradual, injury to the wrist that is caused by repetitive motion (such as that used to work a computer keyboard).
In addition, a variety of occupational illnesses/injuries - such as tendinitis, bursitis, and a majority of injuries to the lower back - can be considered cumulative trauma disorders.
By one characterization, cumulative trauma disorders have been called the "plague" of the last 15 years. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 223,000 of the 368,000 work-related illnesses reported nationwide in 1991 were disorders associated with cumulative trauma disorders.
Studies reveal that most serious and costly injuries to workers are caused by strains - injuries that occur because employees exceeded the physical limits of their bodies; lifting, lowering, overreaching, pushing, pulling, and carrying products or supplies are the main culprits.
In contrast strains in office personnel occur not from routine lifting of heavy materials but from routine sedentary behavior. Many employees suffer back problems from performing jobs that keep them in one position most of the day, such as sitting at a desk or operating a computer terminal.
Others suffer injuries from being sedentary most of the day and then suddenly lifting a box of computer paper or reaching for an object on a high shelf. The cost of cumulative trauma disorders injuries can be quite high.
In California, for example, the California Department of Insurance analysis of 1989 claims shows that average workers compensation claims for a "serious" cumulative trauma disorders injury costs an insurer or self-insured employer about $20,000.
Nationwide, estimates by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicate that one cumulative trauma disorders injury - carpal tunnel syndrome, affecting the median nerve in the hand - costs $3,500 in benefits and up to $40,000 in medical costs.
Recently, a Colorado-based luggage manufacturer was fined close to $500,000 for exposing 1,200 employees to excessive ergonomic stress, which resulted in cumulative trauma disorders such as tendinitis, bursitis, ligament strain, and lower back pain.
Assessment of the options to modify exposure by changing the work process, using alternative tools, reducing time on a high-risk task through job rotation or transfer, or using protective equipment.
