Journal of occupational rehabilitation
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Four hundred eighty five patients whose chief complaints were work related pain and other symptoms received a comprehensive upper-body clinical evaluation to determine the extent of their illness. The group had a mean age of 38.5 years. Sixty-three percent of patients were females. ⋯ We conclude that despite initial presentation distally, work-related upper-extremity disorders are a diffuse neuromuscular illness with significant proximal upper-body findings that affect distal function. While neurogenic TOS remains a controversial diagnosis, the substantial number of patients with positive clinical findings in this study lends weight to the concept that posture related neurogenic TOS is a key factor in the cascading series of physical events that characterize this illness. A comprehensive upper-body examination produces findings that cannot be obtained through laboratory tests and surveys alone and lays the ground work for generating hypotheses about the etiology of work related upper-extremity disorders that can be tested in controlled investigations.