Musculoskeletal disorders of operators at video terminals
Doctor Ramona Ghișe
April 15, 2020
Most occupational disorders of the locomotor system can develop over time, generated by actual work and the working environment or they can be the result of accidents and can vary from discomfort, pain and minor suffering, to illnesses that require absences from work, medical treatment. , and in more serious situations can lead to permanent disability. Many problems, however, can be prevented or significantly reduced by adhering to the legislation on safety and health at work and by following the guidelines on good practices in the organization of the workplace, the definition of workload and responsibilities, and the adoption of risk mitigation measures. of accident and occupational disease.
Some types of disorders are associated with certain tasks or trades.
Thus the main musculoskeletal sufferings encountered in the activity of VDT are:
Spine damage. Associated with sitting and shoulder pain, it is possible to define a specific picture of the office work, known as the "secretion syndrome". The main causes: inadequate furniture (construction or positioning), low seat, narrow, unstable, soft, the seat of the chair allows the body to slide forward, the backrest does not provide lumbar support, unforced forearms, elbows lower than the keyboard, twisted body position screen, often to avoid reflection phenomena, lack of support for the legs. There is growing evidence linking psychosocial factors - such as minor job satisfaction - and lumbar problems, especially when they occur with physical factors.
Neck pain, shoulders, upper back: fixed position, required by computer work, especially if the worker's arms have no support or shoulders are bent. Myofascial ischemic pain is a common mechanism of cervical and thoracic pain.
Disc herniation - in those who work more than half of the working time in a sitting position, it can occur with a risk of 60-70% higher than in those who do not sit down so much. It manifests itself in the form of severe foot pain; Small hernias can cause sciatic pain while large hernias can lead to pain sensitivity associated with pain
Osteoporosis which is favored by prolonged sedentary activities, which increases the risk of secondary fractures.
CTD (Cumulative Trauma Disorder) is a syndrome that occurs as a result of the prolonged, rigid position of the arms around the body, which leads to the compression of the vessels and nerves in the pectoral area and which manifests through local pain and embarrassment.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (form of CTD): cramps in the palm and fingers, reaching pain, loss of control, weakness (loss of objects), inability to work, even to local ankyloses, by ulnar compression of local tendon formations. The rapid movements of the fingers and the prolonged typing activity cause inflammation of the tendons, decreasing the amount of synovial fluid and secondary compression in this narrow space of the median nerve. If the activity is reduced or interrupted at the onset of pain as the first symptom, the phenomena are reversible. The continuation of the sustained activity leads in time to the appearance of irreversible changes of the median nerve.
In the personnel with seniority in activity there is, in most cases, digital hyperextension, with hypermobic joints. More than 1/4 of users hit the keys with too much force. The main cause of carpal tunnel syndrome: improper keyboard positioning (higher than 4 cm), hard keys; lasting activity, without breaks, the absence of armrests or their inadequate construction: too long, too narrow, from hard or slippery materials; The wrist does not have to be bent or must be bent to reach the keyboard.
Tendonitis, tenosynovitis of the extensor of the thumb appears mainly by typing the target with the cops; the intersection syndrome consists of tenosynovitis with location on the dorsal part of the forearm, in the area of intersection of the extensor tendons of the hand and the police. The extensor tendon appears if the hand is held up for a long time or repeatedly raised-lowered. Appears frequently to musicians and keyboard users.
