Prevalence of tendinitis and related disorders of the upper extremity in a manufacturing workforce

A cross sectional survey of a randomly selected population of 2,261 textile workers form an overall population of 8,539 eligible workers was performed to evaluate the prevalence of tendinitis in related upper extremity disorders. Of the sample, 2,047 respondents (91.3%) participated in a nurse screening history and examination: 1,091 (53%) had no upper extremity symptoms or abnormalities on examination; 959 (47%) with positive findings were examined by trained physicians. Of these, 347 (36.5%) were found to have no abnormality, whereas, 548 (57.3%) workers were assigned a diagnosis. Of these 227 were considered to fall into the categories of tendinitis (n = 69) or related disorders (n = 158). The projected prevalence of tendinitis and related disorders for the overall group was 11.6% (carpal tunnel syndrome 1.1%, epicondylitis 2.0%, tendinitis 3.5%, shoulder condition 2.3%, ganglion 2.3%, neck conditions 4.0%). Tendinitis was less frequent in the older age group and those employed for a longer time. The prevalence of tendinitis was found to be statistically higher in physically demanding job categories. Ninety-four percent of ailments were of mild or moderate severity. Although our study provides prevalence data for these conditions in a large manufacturing workforce across several job categories.