10,000 M'sians Suffer Upper Limb Injury From Computer Use

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- About 10,000 Malaysians who use computers in their workplace suffer upper limb injuries a year and to this the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) proposes the need to promote usage of ergonomics in workplaces.
Niosh chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said industries that implemented ergonomics programmes reported a significant drop in accidents, injuries, illnesses and healthcare cost and increased productivity, work efficiency, product quality and higher workers' morale.
Ergonomics -- integrating knowledge derived from human sciences to match jobs, systems, products and environment to the physical and mental abilities and limitations - is relatively a new field in Malaysia in comparison to advanced countries like Japan, the United States and Canada, he said in a statement.
"Nevertheless, the philosophy, essence, principle and concepts of ergonomics are clearly important to human at work and to disregard them would be a handicap in efforts to promote occupation, safety and health at workplace." he said.
Lee said the Social Security Organisation (Socso) statistics showed the number of cases involving injuries in the upper limb, especially fingers and hands, reached about 10,000 every year and the number of back injury cases about 2,000.
While a study by Niosh indicated 61.4 per cent of workers who used computers in their workplace suffered from lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain, while 70.6 per cent of them complain of eyestrain.
"In 2004, Socso spent more than RM722.4 million in compensation. I believe the amount could have been reduced if we had taken pro-active measures to improve safety at workplace," he said.
Lee said it was well documented that computers and their associated furniture were linked with various musculoskeletal problems of the hands, arms, neck, back and legs.
Musculoskeletal problems are related to the design, layout and use of various office furniture components.
"Niosh, as the premier training institute in occupational safety and health, is committed to the promotion of ergonomics to the Malaysian workforce. Courses, exhibitions, talks, seminars and conferences are held periodically on the field," he added.