The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has called on the Government to do more to prevent repetitive strain injuries (RSI) among British workers.
The call came after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found 213,000 employees had a limb or neck disorder caused or made worse by their job in 2007/2008.
The HSE reports little progress in tackling RSI over the past six years. In 2007/2008 there were 81,000 new cases reported, compared with 87,000 in 2001/2002 when 222,000 people were found to be suffering from the condition.
Repetitive strain injuries are estimated to cost employers £300 million every year in lost working time so the CSP is calling on the Government to minimise the problem by making occupational health a compulsory provision and offering employers tax relief for offering occupational health services.
The CSP argues that more needs to be done to prevent repetitive strain injury occurring in the first place and, if it does occur, to provide early intervention treatments to prevent the problem getting so bad people have to stop work altogether.