Abstract

Québec physicians are responsible for assessing the health status of workers suffering from injuries which may have resulted from repetitive work. While clinical diagnosis of these injuries is relatively easy, establishment of their relation to work is more difficult.

A team of clinicians and researchers have produced two guides to help physicians diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome and De Quervain's tendinitis, two injuries which may be caused by repetitive work. A third guide, on tendinitis of the shoulder, will be published in 1997. These guides reflect standard clinical approach and include sections on medical history, work history, physical examination, clinical and paraclinical tests, and differential diagnosis.

The guides are based on a literature review, jurisprudence of the Commission d'appel en matière de lésions professionnelles (CALP, Occupational Injury Appeal Commission) and a survey of current practice regarding the clinical and occupational diagnosis of cumulative trauma disorders.