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To the Editor: The article on repetitive strain injuries by William Stone' was long overdue. We are well into an epidemic whose costs threaten to exceed those of back injuries in the 1970s. These costs are to the individual victim, the community, and the credibility of medical practice itself.

There are several simultaneous priorities. One is recognition of the disease — none of this "bit of Indocid and back to work", but adequate assessment by an occupational physician, long before the money cost alone escalates into a "comp" payout of $50 000 or more. Ergonomic study of the work-place where the injury occurred is a must, before there is a recurrence or an epidemic. Ergonomic analysis can be recommended with confidence and authority by the treating doctor, and must be done by someone with a professional background, training, and experience in ergonomics.

Some of this analysis is easy: seat height adjustable easily between 38 and 45 cm, non-glare lighting at 4001x, keyboard stiffness less than 1 N (about 100 g), and so on. Some of it is more subtle, as with training methods and supervision. The vital step is to make use of the knowledge of a practitioner in ergonomics.
There are over a dozen professional full-time ergonomics consultants around Australia, among the members of the Ergonomics Society of Australia and New Zealand. Their names, or local phone numbers of the Society, can be obtained through the secretariat of the Ergonomics Society branch at Clunies Ross House, Melbourne, telephone: (03)609-1711. Some organizations, such as Shell Australia and the South Australian Health Commission, employ official, full-time salaries ergonomists.

When Charles Snow stopped the cholera epidemic in London 100 years ago, the useful myth was that he simply removed the handle of the water-pump in Broad Street. Today's epidemic needs the same clear action — remove the unergonomic handles and work-places. Ergonomists with the necessary expertise are ready to help.

Michael Patkin, FRACS
Ergon House
Whyalla, SA 5600

1 Stone W E. Repetitive strain injuries. Med J Aust 1983; 2: 616-618.
April 28, 1984 THE MEDICAL JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA  566

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This letter was published in The Australian at the height of the RSI epidemic in the mid-1980s. It was an attempt to put some sanity into the national debate.

April 28, 1984 THE MEDICAL JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA  566

Ergonomists are available, and waiting

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