The Proportion of Cumulative Trauma Disorders of the Upper Extremities in U.S. Industry

Abstract

Numerous case studies indicate a high incidence of cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) of the upper extremities. However, there have been few broad based attempts to give an assessment of the problem in industry overall. Using two large databases of accident information, CTDs were found to account for approximately 3% of all accidents and 3.5% of all accident costs in 1991. An increasing trend was clearly indicated over the past several years. Analysis was also done by state and job classification.