Trends in industrial rehabilitation: ergonomics and cumulative trauma disorders

Cumulative trauma disorders are reaching epidemic proportions, affecting almost 19 million workers per year and costing industry nearly $100 billion annually (LaBar, 1991). Increased levels of productivity with fewer job tasks and lighter load concentrations on smaller aspects of the body are the primary contributing factors to the rise in cumulative trauma disorders (Herbert, 1986). Employers and consumers are feeling the significant effects, particularly financial, of cumulative trauma disorders and are looking for ways to decrease these disorders in the workplace. Ergonomics is a field that is focusing on decreasing work injuries and increasing work efficiency. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is in the process of developing proposed ergonomic guidelines. This paper describes the trends in industrial rehabilitation as they relate to cumulative trauma disorder, ergonomics and the components of an effective ergonomic program and injury prevention work environment.