Science / Medicine : Increase Found in Hand, Wrist Disorder

The number of people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, a trauma disorder caused by repetitive and stressful motions of the hand and wrist, may be far higher than recognized, the results of a California study suggest. Carpal tunnel syndrome is marked by pain and numbness in the hand and wrist. Evidence of injury has been found among garment workers, butchers, grocery checkers, assembly-line workers, typists and musicians, among others. But the Centers for Disease Control reports that reliable information on the number of people affected is lacking, in part because health professionals are not trained to detect it.

This view is borne out by a survey undertaken last year by the California Occupational Health Program in Santa Clara County and reported last month in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Of 515 health-care providers, 95% reported caring for a total of 7,214 people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Of those, 3,413 cases were deemed work-related. This compares with just 71 work-related cases reported to the state in 1986.