A recently published six year longitudinal study reveals a high prevalence of specific and non-specific upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders among North American automobile manufacturing workers. Rotator cuff tendinitis and de Quervain's disease were the most common specific conditions. Twenty-five percent of non-specific conditions progressed to a specific diagnosis at one year follow-ups.

In Britain, slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of injuries at work. The country's efforts to cut the numbers could hold lessons for United States legislators who are working to reintroduce the ergonomics standard.

The faltering economy, aging workforce, and uncertainties of Social Security/Medicare entitlements are headline issues. The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine says ergonomic programs are part of the solution to this triple threat.

The findings of a recent award-winning study,

A recent study examining both personal and physical risk factors revealed several specific upper extremity physical activities to be significantly associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. The authors identify construction trade workers as a group at high risk for developing the disorder.

Pending changes in a regulation governing trainee doctors working hours in Europe expose the gap in attitudes across the Atlantic to the patient safety issue of doctor fatigue.

A University of Washington study challenges several long-held causation assumptions associated with work-related low back disability and finds workplace factors play a significant role.

Barack Obama and his new administration has committed to the quest for an interoperable e-health record system for the nation. The expression,

It's all in your head. A physiological mechanism was found that could explain the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and musculoskeletal pain.