Recent trends in research on occupational cervicobrachial disorder

Recent rapid development of mechanization and automatization in many industries in Japan have increased simple and repetitive tasks that have resulted in some new types of occupational health hazards, in particular among young female workers. One of them is occupational cervicobrachial disorder, the concept of which was established by the committee organized by the Japan Association of Industrial Health in 1972. The committee demonstrated that the disorder resulted from repetitive upper limb manipulation in punching and operating various kinds of business machines, and concluded that the disorder was closely related to chronic fatigue in the shoulders, neck, lower back and other parts of the body. In 1975 a study team was organized with a grant from the Ministry of Education. The team was divided into four working groups. Topics of these groups were 1) etiology of the disorder, 2) natural history of the disorder in various kinds of jobs, 3) mass examination techniques for the disorder, and 4) a health care system to be provided for the workers. The persent report summarizes the results of group discussions with a view to indicating the current problems of occupational cervicobrachial disorder and the necessary future steps for its care treatment and prevention.