in Practice

A1997 survey of sonographers in Canada andthe United States found that 57 % of therespondents had wrist injuries and 55% reported hand and finger injuries that were work related. Many work tasks require the worker to grip an object such as a pen, computer mouse, tool, or in the case of sonography, any variety of ultrasound transducers designed for specific diagnostic procedures. The force necessary to grip small diameter objects is being applied by some of the smallest muscles in the human body. Additionally, the ease of positioning of the transducer depends on the transducer housing, flex relief cuff and the cable’s ability to follow the movements of the sonographer’s hand movements. Heavy, inflexible transducer cables put additional strain on the wrist, forearm and elbow of the scanning arm requiring increased grip force to resist the torque created by the transducer cable. Research has shown that forceful or prolonged grips or grips with awkward postures lead to injuries of the upper extremity. Grip strength also decreases when the wrist is in an awkward posture. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) refer to a group of disorders caused by or aggravated by workplace activities. These injuries are not caused by what workers do but how they do it. The increased use of technology in today’s workplace has led to decreased movements in order to accomplish tasks and results in the relationship between the user an