Overuse injuries, otherwise known as cumulative trauma disorders, are described as tissue damage that results from repetitive demand over the course of time. The term refers to a vast array of diagnoses, including occupational, recreational, and habitual activities. The impact of these injuries varies from the occasional annoyance to loss of function as a result of frank tissue destruction.  

In many performing artists, musicians, craftsmen, and workers, loss of function at even a minor level can result in a significant loss of livelihood (leading to the various difficulties associated with this loss). The most important factor leading to overuse injury is repetitive activity, although the specific type of force leads to different outcomes. One group of authors accurately described the issue as “a culprit and a victim,” in which the victim is the injured tissue, and the culprit is the true biomechanical cause. All too frequently, physicians focus on the victim tissue and not on the culprit. Repetition is part of the definition of overuse injury. The concept is that overuse injury is associated with repeated challenge without sufficient recovery time. Vibration, especially over long periods, has long been shown to be a factor in increasing the risk of many injuries (e.g., lower back pain, intervertebral disk injury, wrist injury).

• The greater the forces involved, the greater the likelihood of developing an overuse injury. • Mispositioning limbs away from their neutral position increases the risk for overuse injury.

Multiple articles in dental and surgical literature emphasize this point. Ergonomics is the field that focuses primarily on designing devices that lend themselves to good positioning.  A massive increase has occurred in the amount of ergonomically designed work equipment, especially keyboards, mice, chairs and desks.