Work Wright - What is Functionality Screening?

Functionality Screening was developed as an organizational safety and health screen for the sole purpose of helping people help themselves by making them safer. To keep an employee’s hands as safe as physically possible there are two primary areas of interest: Initial exposure to the job and the ergonomic environment of the day-to-day performance of the job.

Without effective functionality screening, as our workforce has experienced for the past 50 plus years, these two areas have confounded current remedial activity and have enabled the development of the situation we now see in our workplaces: Hand functionality issues (like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) are a major workplace injury and account for over 60% of all workers’ comp dollars spent. Functionality screening was specifically developed to objectively identify issues in both primary areas in a safe, fast, accurate and cost effective manner while leaving the medical diagnosis where it belongs, in the hands of medical professionals. Business interests are in a persons ability to perform the essential elements of the task and of tasks that put our employees at risk for developing functionality issues and diminishing operational performance.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (29 CFR Section 1630.14) provides that pre-employment inquiries are acceptable and that employment can be denied based on the inability to perform job-related functions, including the failure to pass a medical examination or inquiry. The heart of the matter of “functionality screening” is whether or not a person can safely perform the essential elements of the job without placing themselves or others at risk for developing or exacerbating an existing condition: Helping people help themselves by making them safer.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is recognized as a major injury in the areas of hand functionality and is described below for your information.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a cumulative trauma disorder of the hands and wrist often caused by repeatedly performing stressful motions with your hands or holding your hands in the same position for long periods of time. CTS can strike anyone! Work-related cases are highest among the 20-to-40 age group and non-work-related cases highest among people in their 50s.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
The main cause of CTS is repetitive motions that stress the hands, such as extensive use at a computer keyboard and hand tools, small parts assembly, chopping, sewing, knitting, and sports activities involving hand movements and excessive vibration. The stress affects the sensitive nerves of the hands and wrists and the blood supply to the hands and wrists. Repetitive flexing and extension of the wrist may cause a thickening of the protective sheath surrounding each tendon. The swollen tendon sheaths apply increased pressure on the median nerve and produce CTS.

Tingling or pain in the injured hand, usually thumb, index, but may include the middle and ring fingers, or tingling in the whole hand. Symptoms may first occur at night.
Numbness in the fingers.
Cramping of the hand and wrist.
Hands feel weak in the morning.
Hands drop objects frequently.
Difficulty buttoning a shirt, handwriting or opening a jar lid.
Feeling swelling in fingers when there is no visible swelling.
Weakness of the fingers when holding and squeezing an object.
Difficulty telling hot from cold by touch.
Difficulty tying shoe laces or picking up small objects.
Muscle atrophy with mild weakness in the thumb.
Pain from the hand shooting up as far as the shoulder.

What to Do if You Have Symptoms and Signs of CTS?
Consult with your doctor about these symptoms and signs. Today there is a new rapid, noninvasive screening test available to measure your motor and sensory functionality of your hands and to determine how well your bones, muscles, and nerves are working together. A problem with any of or a combination of these parts of your hands and wrist may indicate early onset of CTS. For more information about this new screening test or to preview it by someone in your area, contact us.