When you make your living working in a Delaware office environment and spend considerable time at a computer, you run the risk of developing work-related carpal tunnel, a condition that impacts tens of thousands of Americans every year. Carpal tunnel often leads to missed work, surgery and a range of other consequences. It also costs American employers a considerable sum in terms of workers’ compensation costs.
Per OHSO Online, work-related carpal tunnel costs American employers an estimated $80 billion a year. Therefore, it is in your employer’s interests to figure out how to better protect you from this and other repetitive motion injuries in your place of employment.
Carpal tunnel statistics
Each year, an estimated 120,000 American workers must undergo surgery as a result of carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel is now the most common repetitive motion injury suffered by members of the U.S. workforce, and the average worker who develops carpal tunnel or another repetitive motion injury takes 23 days to make a full recovery. This means the average worker who develops carpal tunnel takes 14 days longer to recover than the average worker who experiences all other types of work injuries.
Carpal tunnel prevention
Workers in certain industries with high rates of repetitive motion injuries, such as those who work on assembly lines or in manufacturing, are increasingly using special gloves to help protect their hands on the job. However, if you spend much of your day typing, this may not prove feasible. However, you may find that using wrist support or swapping out your current office furniture for new models may help lower your associated risk.
If you suspect you might have developed work-related carpal tunnel, you would be wise not to ignore it. Doing so has the potential to lead to permanent nerve damage, among other possible complications.