February 28, 2006 will mark the seventh annual International RSI Awareness Day — a day set aside each year to focus attention on repetitive strain injuries. The event is officially observed on February 29th, the only "non-repetitive" day on the calendar (in non-leap years, RSI Awareness Day is observed on February 28th.)

Repetitive strain injury (RSI), also known as work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), is an umbrella term for a number of overuse injuries affecting the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and nerves) of the neck, upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, arms and hands. These disorders can be caused by work activities that are frequent and repetitive, or activities with awkward postures. They are a serious occupational health concern across the world and are recognized as leading causes of significant human suffering, loss of productivity and economic burdens on society.

On this day, workers, health and safety professionals, health care practitioners and others worldwide take the opportunity to help raise awareness about RSIs and the need for action aimed at prevention, rehabilitation and compensation. Campaigns, exhibitions, seminars and conferences are conducted to highlight the work hazards that cause strain injuries, to undertake workplace activities on strain prevention and to press for preventive action by employers and governments.

As part of its contribution to this important worker awareness day, IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) — one of only three CIS Centers in Canada — has compiled some essential information on the impact of RSIs in the workplace, useful tips on how to recognize RSI-prone situations and the preventive steps employers can take to reduce RSI incident rates.

The London RSI Support Group is giving people the opportunity to find out about RSI conditions, treatments, therapies, how to work round the limitations of RSI conditions, how to seek assistance, etc through exhibitions, presentations and seminars. The Health and Safety Executive — our CIS Center in the United Kingdom — is supporting this event and will be presenting its priority programme on musculo-skeletal disorders including RSIs. Click here to find the meeting details.

CIS invites employers and workers across the world to consult the CISDOC bibliographic database containing references to numerous books, training manuals, articles, etc. on various OHS-related subjects including RSIs. CIS has extracted the most recent additions to CISDOC on repetitive work and muskuloskeletal diseases, including complete bibliographic details, abstracts and internet links when available.

The ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety is another important source of reference that addresses this issue of work-related RSIs and WMSDs. It includes chapters on Musculoskeletal System and Ergonomics, as well as the following articles : Musculoskeletal disorders among fishermen and workers in the fish processing industry, Musculoskeletal disorders among visual display units operators and Effect of psychosocial work factors on musculoskeletal disorders.