持久性疼痛反復拉傷最常發生在做大量重手工活的操作員中。

Neck, shoulder, hand or arm pain can develop in computer users, but the connection between keyboard typing and carpal tunnel syndrome remains controversial.

頸，肩，手或手臂疼痛常發生在計算機用戶身上，但鍵盤打字和腕管綜合癥之間的聯系仍然是有爭議的。

Companies often report that ergonomic workplace measures lead to fewer days lost from work, though researchers are still seeking rigorous scientific proof that these interventions are effective.

公司經常報告說，符合人體工程學的工作措施，能提高工作效率，但研究人員仍然在尋求嚴格的科學證據證明這些措施是卓有成效的。

It is a fact of life that job and career can be stressful.

事實上，在生活中，工作和職業是通滿壓力。

But some occupations also take a physical toll: persistent aching, throbbing or tingling in the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder or neck.

但是，一些職業還對身體造成一定的傷害：手，腕，肘，肩或頸部等的持續疼痛，抽搐或刺痛。

These insidious soft-tissue ailments — variously known as repetitive strain injuries, cumulative trauma disorders or work-related musculoskeletal disorders — include the debilitating nerve injury of carpal tunnel syndrome and the inflamed tendons of tendinitis .

這些慢慢惡化的軟組織疾病即各種稱為重復性應變性損傷，累積創傷失調或與工作有關的肌肉骨骼疾患-包括虛弱神經損傷的腕管綜合癥和肌腱發炎的肌腱炎。

They not only can cripple a person’s ability to earn a living.

他們不僅可以削弱一個人的謀生的能力。

 They may also make it difficult even to twist the lid off a jar, wash the dishes or turn the steering wheel.

它們甚至可能造成難于擰開蓋子，洗碗，或把方向盤。

Therapies like steroid injections, pain relievers or surgery can go a long way in alleviating pain.

類固醇注射，止痛濟或手術之類治療方法對減輕疼痛很有幫助。

But treatments do not always offer a definitive cure, and injuries can recur.

但這些治療方法也不一定能最終治好，并且這類損傷還會重復造成。

Prevention is therefore paramount.

因此，預防是至關重要的。

To reduce the risk of injury, many workplaces, with help from researchers, have adopted ergonomic interventions: measures that tailor equipment or job routines to accommodate the human body.

為了降低傷害的風險，由于得到研究人員的幫助，許多工作場所，采用了符合人體工程學的干預措施如：調整設備或工作程序，以適應人體的措施。

But while real-world success stories abound, scientists are still sorting through the evidence to determine which ergonomic measures really work.

在現實世界中成功的事例比比皆是，但是科學家們仍然要通過對比，以確定哪些符合人體工程學的措施，更加有效。

Each year, more than 100,000 new cases of upper-extremity ailments are reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration .

每年有超過100000例上下肢疾病的病類報告提交給 職業安全和健康管理局 。無論是在制造業，建筑業，肉類包裝或護理業中，這些病例中存在的

Problems are especially common among those who do heavy or frequent manual handling and lifting tasks, whether in manufacturing, construction, meatpacking or nursing care.

問題是類似的，特別是那些做沉重的或頻繁的手工操作和吊裝任務的人中。

 But repetitive strain injuries are perhaps most infamously associated with computer use.

但是，重復性應變受傷往往與使用電腦有關。 Widespread media coverage in the late 1980s and early ’90s described an emerging plague of wrist pain from carpal tunnel syndrome in computer keyboard operators, writers and other office workers.

媒體在80年代后期和90年代初廣泛報道了一個新發生在計算機操作員，作家和其他辦公室工作人員的手腕疼痛病癥。

人們Skepticism arose over whether tapping on a keyboard, or other more forceful repetitive motions, could result in so much discomfort and disability.

懷疑是否由于敲擊鍵盤，或其他更應力性重復動作，才造成如此多的不適和殘疾。

In the years since, researchers have established that exerting the hands, arms or shoulders in tasks that require high levels of force, many repetitions, awkward postures or high amounts of vibration increases the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.

在這些年里，研究人員已經確定，在工作是運用手，胳膊或肩膀，需要高水平的力量，許多重復性，不健康性姿勢，或過量的按摩增加了肌肉骨骼患疾的風險。

But research in the last decade has established that carpal tunnel syndrome is “not as common in computer users as people have believed — in the absence of good evidence — that it was,” said Dr. Fredric E. Gerr, an occupational medicine physician and ergonomics investigator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

但是，在過去十年研究已經確定，腕管綜合癥“如果沒有很好的證據證明，不像人們相信的那樣，和計算機用戶一樣相同”弗雷德里克.格爾說，弗雷德里克.格爾是一個職業醫師，同時也是愛荷華市艾奧瓦大學人體工程學研究員。

 And whether typing actually causes that disorder remains controversial, with some recent studies calling into question any significant connection.

打字是否是造成疾患的原因仍然是有爭議的，一些最近的研究就對作任何之間的重大聯系提出了質疑。

Nonetheless, he added, “The epidemiological evidence is overwhelming that the more people type, the more pain they have.”

不過，他補充說， “流行病學證據是壓倒性的，人們敲擊得越多，他們的痛苦就越多。 ”

Neck and shoulder pain is the most common upper-extremity musculoskeletal problem among computer users.

頸部和肩部疼痛是計算機用戶中最常見的上下肢肌肉骨骼問題。

In a 2002 study tracking 632 computer users newly hired at major Atlanta companies, Dr. Gerr and colleagues observed that roughly 60 percent developed neck or shoulder pain in the first year, though the study did not track how long symptoms persisted.

在2002年的一份研究中，跟蹤研究632名新雇用的亞特蘭大公司電腦使用者， 格爾博士及其同事發現，大約百分之六十的人頸部或肩部疼痛發生在頭一年，盡管這項研究并沒有跟蹤癥狀會持續多久。

About 40 percent reported hand or arm symptoms, mostly from tendinitis.

約有百分之四十出現手或手臂的癥狀，其中大部分來自肌腱炎。

 Only 1 percent developed carpal tunnel syndrome.

只有百分之一會導致腕管綜合癥。

生活Younger generations growing up in the digital age are likewise joining the ranks of the typing wounded.

生活生龍活虎在數字時代的年輕一代也同樣加入了打字損傷的行列。

Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experience upper-extremity pain from using their computers.

在兩所大學調查發現， 40%至50%的大學生經歷因使用電腦而導致的上下肢疼痛。

Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies.

高校沒有建立可調節的符合人體工程學的宿舍家具，多倫多工作與健康科學研究所主任，研究發起人本杰明•阿米克博士說。

“They build it to be indestructible.”

“他們的研究是堅不可摧的。 ”

In the business sector, many companies have made significant ergonomic improvements to the work environment, particularly in office and manufacturing settings, experts said.

在商業部門，許多公司改善符合人體工程學的工作環境方面都取得了顯著提高，特別是辦公室和制造業的環境，專家說。

The idea is to minimize the stresses on hands, arms and shoulders.

改善環境的想法是盡量減輕對手，胳膊和肩膀的壓力。

For instance, in offices since the ’90s, thick keyboards with stiff keys have given way to thinner, softer-touch versions.

例如， 90年代以來，辦公用的厚且硬鍵盤鍵已經被給薄而軟觸摸版本所取代。

More attention is also paid to proper positioning of the keyboard, monitor and chair and to alternative types of computer mice.

更加重視對鍵盤，顯示器和椅子等位置的擺放，及其他類型的計算機鼠標的選擇。

And in some automobile manufacturing plants, companies have modified assembly-line equipment to take some of the physical load off workers, along with making changes to rotate employees along the line.

在一些汽車制造工廠，公司已修改了組裝線設備，以減少了需要體力負荷的崗位，同時讓員工輪流工作。

華盛頓州勞動部安全及健康評估和預防的研究計劃研究總監芭芭拉弗斯坦說：

“Employers are “recognizing that you need variety in the motions that you do, rather than constantly using the same exact muscles and nerves and tendons,” said Barbara Silverstein, research director at the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention program of the Washington State labor department.

雇主們逐漸認識到你需要有各種不同的動作，而不是不斷地使用相同的肌肉和神經和肌腱”。

Such changes often pay off.

這種改變往往是有回報。在即將出版的，1998年， 2001年和2003年的總共超過5000家華盛頓受訪公司的調查

In a soon-to-be published analysis of data from more than 5,000 Washington companies surveyed in 1998, 2001 and 2003, Dr. Silverstein found that businesses that reported implementing ergonomic measures also saw a decrease in musculoskeletal injuries and absenteeism rates.

數據分析中，博士西爾弗斯坦發現，企業執行符合人體工程學的措施也減少了肌肉骨骼損傷和曠工率的出現。

In addition, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics , the number of repetitive strain cases per 10,000 full-time workers dropped from a high of 41 in 1994 to 24 in 2001.

此外，根據聯邦勞工統計局統計，重復性損傷病例數據顯示，每萬名全職員工得重復性損傷從1994年的41例下降到2001年的24例。

(The agency has stopped tracking data in this category of “repeated trauma” disorders.) However, some researchers say that the data is unreliable and undercounts all occupational injuries and illnesses, because of problems with underreporting and with changes in recordkeeping requirements.

（該機構已停止跟蹤在此類別中的“重復創傷”數據。）然而，一些研究人員認為，由于低估和記錄需求量的變化，這些數據是不可靠并肯少算了所有職業傷害和病痛量。

Meanwhile, scientists are seeking to build a base of rigorous evidence for ergonomic prevention strategies to convince skeptics of their value.

與此同時，科學家們正在尋求建立一個嚴格的證據基礎，符合人體工程學的預防戰略價值，以說服持懷疑態度者。

But so far, reviews of the research have turned up limited or conflicting proof of positive benefits from such measures as stretching exercises or various workstation adjustments for computer users.

但迄今為止，研究已出現有限或相互矛盾的證據的積極效益等措施，伸展運動或各種工作站調整的計算機用戶。

大衛任安培博士，加州大學柏克萊分校人體工程研究人員說

A major difficulty is that although many studies have demonstrated ergonomic measures to be helpful, few have been the kind of large, high-quality randomized controlled trials that provide clear-cut answers, said Dr. David Rempel, an ergonomics researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

一個主要的困難是，雖然許多研究表明人體工程學的措施是有益的，但很少有這樣的大型，高品質的隨機對照試驗，提供明確的答案。

Such trials are costly and complex to design well for workplace settings, he explained, and federal financing for workplace safety studies is scarce.

他解釋說，這種試驗要為工作場所設計良好的環境，成本是昂貴并非常復雜。而且，聯邦資助工作場所的安全性研究很少。

“A lot of us are banging our heads against that wall now,” Dr. Gerr said of the challenge of ascertaining which interventions work..

“我們很多人都對此感到很苦惱， ”格爾博士說，確定哪些干預工作很有挑戰性

In the absence of definitive evidence, clinicians continue to exercise their best judgment in finding good solutions for their patients.

在沒有確切證據，臨床醫生只能繼續根據判斷為他們的病人找到良好的解決方案。