Tendonitis: An Occupational Injury
Tendonitis is a condition which affects many American workers and results in physical pain and time away from work. Accordingly, it is important to understand what tendonitis is, what causes it and how it can be treated.
What is Tendonitis?
Tendons are the tissues that connect muscle with bone. When the tendons become inflamed, the medical term for the condition is called tendonitis. Tendonitis most often affects the tendons in the hands and wrists but can occur anywhere in the body.
A person with tendonitis will likely experience pain, swelling and inflammation in the affected area. While these symptoms are similar to other conditions, a medical doctor can accurately diagnose and treat tendonitis.
What causes Tendonitis?
Tendonitis develops because of a repetitive use or overuse of a certain area of the body. It can also develop from poor technique when using certain parts of the body. There are a number of occupational hazards that can result in tendonitis including typing and lifting heavy objects. Anyone who does repetitive movements consistently on the job can be at risk.
Is Tendonitis a Problem?
In 2001, tendonitis caused more than 14,000 days of absences among workers in the private sector. The greatest number of lost days was among operators, fabricators and laborers followed by technical, sales and administrative support workers.
Figure 2-66. Distribution and number of tendonitis cases involving days away from work in private industry by occupation, 2001. Operators, fabricators, and laborers represented 47.1% of tendonitis cases in 2001. Two other occupations accounted for nearly 39% of the cases: technical, sales, and administrative support (20.8%); and precision production, craft, and repair (18.0%).
Private industry reported an overall rate of 1.6 incidents of tendonitis for every 10,000 full time workers in 2001. The manufacturing, construction and transportation and public utility industries had incidents above the average rate of 1.6, however.
Figure 2-67. Incidence rate of tendonitis cases involving days away from work by private industry sector, 2001. Private industry reported a tendonitis incidence rate of 1.6 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2001. Three sectors reported rates exceeding the private-sector rate: manufacturing (3.2 per 10,000 full-time workers or 5,567 cases), construction (2.0 per 10,000 full-time workers or 1,230 cases), and transportation and public utilities (1.7 per 10,000 full-time workers or 1,128 cases).
(Source: BLS [2003a].)
How is Tendonitis Treated?
There are a variety of treatments available for tendonitis. The treatment prescribed by a doctor is usually determined based on the severity of the condition, the patient’s age, overall health and treatment preferences. Possible treatments include modifying regular activity, demobilization of the affected area by use of a splint, physical therapy, steroids, anti inflammatory medication and sometimes surgery.
Tendonitis is a painful injury that affects many American workers and results in many days lost from work which harms their employers. Accordingly, it is important for employers to train workers on how to avoid tendonitis especially if their jobs include repetitive movements such as typing, lifting or carrying.