Either take care of your wrists, at work and home, or risk losing the use of your hands, local orthopaedic experts have warned.
The advice came after a series of reports linked many hand and wrist injuries to work habits and conditions. The reports were issued by the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Hong Kong.
One study of about 3,000 acute hand injuries found that over 30 per cent of such injuries occurred during work. It examined statistics on injuries from 1998 to 2001, and noted frequent serious injuries - such as fingers and toes cut off, limbs severed, and injuries to bone and soft tissues - occurred on construction sites and among people working with saws.
A second study found that those operating computers for prolonged periods, as well as restaurant waiters, are susceptible to developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a debilitating wrist condition. It estimates there are 4,000 to 6,000 such new cases in Hong Kong annually.
A third study drew even closer links between wrist problems and work - whether housework or occupational tasks. It showed frequent flexing of the wrist increased the risk of CTS by a factor of four; frequent extension and sustained pressure on the wrist increased it by 2.5 times.
Ip Wing-yuk, an associate professor at the department, warned that the condition seriously impaired victims' daily activities.
