ABSTRACT
The term ‘cumulative trauma disorder’ (CTD) implies damage to the musculoskeletal system associated with extensive usage or ‘strain’ of this system. Additional to the more generally accepted relationship between CTD and biomechanical stressors, e.g. damage to the wrist in repetitive work tasks, the phenomenon of many office workers developing musculoskeletal pain syndromes without any striking evidence of physical exertions at work is becoming increasingly noticeable. These pain syndromes are often located in the upper trunk, neck, shoulders, and facial muscles. They have long been recognized in the clinical literature and are classified in a group of suboccipital pain syndromes and as tension headache by the International Association for the Study of Pain (Mersky, 1986).
