Repetitive Motion Injuries in the Manufacturing Industry Stats and Facts

FACTS

Repetitive motion injuries are among the most common injuries in the United States. All of these disorders are made worse by the repetitive actions of daily living.

The most common types of repetitive motion injuries are tendinitis and bursitis. These two disorders are difficult to differentiate, and many times may coexist.

Causes of repetitive strain injury (RSI). Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is caused by repeated use of a body part, such as your shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist, or hand. You can get RSI if:

• you do repetitive activities like hairdressing, decorating, typing, or working on an assembly line.
• you play sports like golf or tennis that involve lots of repetitive movements.
• you have poor posture when sitting or standing at work.
• you use hand-held power tools regularly.

STATS

• 1.8 million workers are afflicted by RSIs per year.
• 1 in every 50 workers has RSI symptoms.
• Half of people who work with computers suffer from RSI symptoms.
• Wrists are the most common RSI trouble spot.
• 6 out of 10 office workers suffer from wrist pain.
• 63.5% of women experience neck and shoulder pain while only 39.7% of men do. The same goes for back pain, which is more common in women (51.4%) than men (44%).
• 55% of RSI-afflicted employees are women.
• 33% of workers with RSI are below 45 years old.
• 62.2% of young workers do repetitive motions at least 25% of their work time.
• 34% of all lost workdays are due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
• Employees suffering from occupational RSI’s take an average of 23 days to recover.
• Every day, 6 workers are forced to leave their jobs due to permanent RSI disability.
• Musculoskeletal Disorders account for one out of three dollars spent on worker’s compensation.