Posted By Nick House Eddie I'd like to see the report on their findings, to see how the researchers reached this decision. Call me a cynic, but I'll stick to the general consensus for the time being. That said, should someone develop arthritis or similar condition, then carpal tunnel syndrome (cts) may well follow as a by-product, and arthritis sufferers should keep a careful eye out for symptoms of the onset of cts. Regards Nick

Posted By Adrian Watson Dear Michael, Science is not neutral, and there is no such thing as an impartial observer. The only person who is impartial is one who doesn't care, so why would he be observing? With regard to the comments on carpal tunnel syndrome, without having read the paper, I cannot make further comment. With regard to passive smoking, the evidence is lacking and does not indicate anything clearly. Studies generally find that passive smoking has a relative risk of around 1.2 with a 95% confidence interval of around 0.9 to 1.4. Anything with a relative risk of less than 2 is unproven to have any effect. The relative risk also needs to be understood in context of all the evidence, which is equivocal to say the least. I would suggest that you have regard to the Bradford-hill criteria in considering the evidence. Regards Adrian Watson

Posted By Hilary Charlton I agree that this study is clearly in the interests of the person carrying it out. Although with keyboard work I have never suffered from this particular complaint, it should be noted that I was properly trained as a secretary prior to taking over health and safety. When mice first came in I did suffer some problems with my right wrist and found that a mouse mat with wrist rest was a necessary item. I see untrained personnel every day whom I know are going to suffer from problems related to their arms, wrists and shoulders purely from their posture. I train where I can but people seem to feel the need to suffer from pain before they take this advice on board. I do feel that keyboard work can lead to carpel tunnel syndrome but do not feel that it must or that this is unavoidable. It would be of considerably more use if, instead of disproving a theory, the organisation undertaking this study could come up with a means of preventing all strains of this sort through improved ergonomics. But then, as I say to myself a hundred times a day "what do I know!"

Posted By Dave Wilson having suffered from wrist and hand pain I changed to a 'Trackball' Mouse and almost instantly did not suffer. We have given these to others with the same problem in the company and it would appear to alleviate thier symptoms as well. Took a couple of weeks to get used to the mouse though!

Posted By Eddie Newall Further details are available here: http://asia.reuters.com/...althNews&storyID=2908419

Posted By Dave Wilson Where do you people get the time and energy to look at never mind read all this stuff! must be doing a Phd or something or is CTS & WRULD the only thing which your people are exposed to.

Posted By Jack Interesting anecdote Hilary but I'm not quite sure what point you are making. Are you saying that your experience indicates pregnancy hormone levels can be discounted? Your point that 'pregnancy can lead to symptons (sic) SIMILAR to those of CTS' would seem to suggest this. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Diseases or conditions that predispose to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome include pregnancy, diabetes, and obesity. It is also says There is little clinical data to prove whether repetitive and forceful movements of the hand and wrist during work or leisure activities can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Repeated motions performed in the course of normal work or other daily activities can result in repetitive motion disorders such as bursitis and tendonitis. Writer's cramp - a condition in which a lack of fine motor skill coordination and ache and pressure in the fingers, wrist, or forearm is brought on by repetitive activity - is not a symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome. ON THE PAPER ITSELF it is in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and was carried out by Dr. Johan Hviid Andersen of the Department of Occupational Medicine at Herning Hospital in Denmark paid for by the Danish Medical Research Council and the Danish Ministry of Employment. They carried out a survey of some 7,000 workers and over 5000 of the group were assessed a year later. They concluded that computer use does not pose a severe occupational hazard for developing the symptoms of CTS and that while there was evidence that forceful industrial work contributes to CTS their data indicated that keyboard use was an unlikely occupational risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. BUT they also said that based on other studies they could not exclude the possibility that very intensive and repetitive keyboard use could be a risk factor although in their opinion it was not an important one. They did find an association between use of a mouse for more than 20 hours a week and a slightly elevated risk of possible carpal tunnel syndrome, but no statistically significant association with keyboard use.

Posted By Jack Sorry Hilary, I hadn’t realised that your comment 'pregnancy can lead to symptons similar to those of CTS' was made in relation to your own circumstances, I had assumed it was a comment on the literature. I thought (obviously incorrectly) that you were making the point that pregnancy can lead to SYMPTOMS SIMILAR to CTS but that there is no association with CTS itself. My mistake. My original point was not really about the association between pregnancy and CTS but about there being other factors outside those which are work related. I should probably have simply said pregnancy without referring to hormones but I did base that on other references in the literature, such as: 'People who suffer with Thyroid Diseases, Amyloidosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Diabetes are more prone to others to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. People who experience Hormonal changes relating to Pregnancy, Menopause and the use of Birth Control Pills also are more prone to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Job stress also has been linked to an increased likelihood of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. As well as, there is more frequency of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Alcoholics'.

Posted By Geoff Burt Miriam Out of interest why do you call ergonomic keyboards and wristrests 'gimmicks'? Geoff

Posted By Ken Taylor Where I have failed to get individuals to adopt a good hand position for keyboard use, the wrist rest has proved a 'second best' option to improved behaviour. However, I remain sceptical regarding the strangely laid out 'ergonomic' keyboards.

Posted By Nigel Hammond Regarding wrist-rests, I am not convinced they are a good idea. Systems concept, the ergonomics trainers, say wrist rests are a bad idea because they restrict blood supply in the thin tissues of the wrist. However they say that wrist-rests for keyboards - used to rest the palm are OK. I have tried out wrist rests for mouse work but can't seem to use them as a palm rest - instead I found myself having to use them as a wrist rest with the result that I experienced tingling in my fingers - because of restricted blood supply. I have used a mouse quite intently for years and have always used them in the correct ergonomic position - close to keyboard - with upper arm hanging level with body and fore-arm at right angles. I have had no problems without a wrist rest.