In 1947, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council noted that conditions known as writer's cramp, telegrapher's palsy and twister's cramp seemed to be associated with attempts to perform a familiar and frequently repeated muscular action. This put an enormous strain on the healthcare system and compensation claims soared, which, in turn, threatened the competitiveness of Australian industry. At the same time, a rapid increase in RSI-type cases was observed in North America. In 1992, the term repetitive strain injury was coined by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. During the past decade, the incidence of RSI has increased dramatically.
Canadian statistics show a similar pattern.
The British Medical Journal this year reported that 11 per cent of the UK adult population may be affected. To date, the term RSI has been broadly applied to a wide range of chronic and painful disorders affecting the upper limbs, including the neck, which appear to be occupationally induced. Some are themselves better defined, such as tenosynovitis, bursitis, tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, while others such as diffuse painful upper limb disorders are less well understood. And, if this does not seem confusing enough, professionals have now made the actual term RSI a subject for debate too, for several reasons. It remains unclear whether repetitive motion itself is the primary cause of the conglomeration of upper limb conditions.