Abstract

OBJECTIVES
In order to reveal the effectiveness of the intervention in the workplace on patients suffering from cervicobrachial disorder (CBD), we reexamined 96 workers out of 137 workers suffering from CBD on the assembly lines of an electric manufacturing factory by using questionnaires, physical exams and neurological exams.
METHODS
Analyses were made of the characteristics of the 96 workers of this company suffering from 1994 to 1996 with special concern for differences before and after the improvement of the working environment. After reexamination of the 96 patients the following results were obtained.
RESULTS
We observed an improvement in the 10 most common subjective symptoms of CBD. These symptoms included general fatigue, pain on neck and shoulders, dullness of the upper extremities, back pain and discomfort and a tingling sensation in the hands and wrists (p < 0. 05). The percentage of workers who complained muscle tenderness of neck and shoulder were reduced (p < 0.05). the percentage of workers with abnormal Morley examination was reduced from 28. 5% to 2. 100 (p < 0.01), and of workers with abnormal EMG finding went from 12. 4% to 2. lao (p < 0. 01) and of grade 3 and grade 4 CBD was reduced from 42. 3% and 18. 3% respectively to 33. 3% and 2. ba (p < 0. 01). Grade 3 and over laborers of CBD had higher scores in somatization, anxiety, depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, phobic anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, neurasthenic, hypochondriacal than other sufferers in the SCL-90-R exam (p < 0. 01).
CONCLUSIONS
in conclusion intervention had effectiveness on subjective symptoms of neck and shoulder and decreasing abnormal finding of muscle tenderness, neurological examination and EMG.

• Keywords: Cervicobrachial;Cummulative traumatic disorder (CTD);Intervention study