A Study of the Use of a Wrist Splint to Prevent WMSDs at a Sprout Grower

Awkward postures and repetitive forceful motions have been implicated as risk factors for the development of work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The use of wrist splints in the work environment has been adapted by some employers in an effort to control at least one of these risk factors. The hypothesis follows that if workers wear wrist splints they can avoid awkward wrist postures, which may reduce their risk for the development of WMSDs. The affect of the wrist splint on the amount of force exerted by the workers is unknown. This study was undertaken at a sprout grower to analyze the relative force exerted by workers with and without a splinted dominant wrist during two hand intensive jobs. It was found that the ability to exert peak grip force was significantly impaired with the use of the wrist splint. In addition, extrinsic flexor electromyography (EMG) and anterior deltoid EMG were relatively higher while subjects worked with splinted wrists as compared to working without a wrist splint. This preliminary data suggests that a wrist splint may limit awkward wrist postures at the expense of increasing the force required to perform hand intensive tasks. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.