Member Article

RSI on the rise

Physiotherapists have called for urgent action to protect workers from repetitive strain injury after a new report showed a “sharp increase” in the number of sufferers.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said RSI was now costing employers almost £300m a year in lost productivity and sick pay. An estimated 3.5 million working days were lost last year because of the condition, with 115,000 new cases reported, said the society. The total number of workers with RSI has risen by more than 50,000 to 426,000 in the past year, it added.

Bronwyn Clifford of CSP said: “Many thousands of people are suffering and employers are losing hundreds of millions of pounds every year through RSI. This is totally unnecessary as RSI can often be avoided with advice on appropriate equipment and safe working practices from occupational health physiotherapists.

“Government and employers must do more to protect the health of employees and prevent a further increase in RSI. We urge the government to promote the use of occupational health physiotherapists more widely and to work with the HSE to ensure that current legislation is adhered to by all employers.”

Construction workers were most at risk, while jobs with the lowest rates included security guards, waiters and cleaners.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .