Wockhardt Hospitals launches India's first - "Interactive Occupational Health Screening Campaign"


On the occasion of World Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day, (RSI Day), Wockhardt Hospitals, India's leading hospital chain, have launched India's first "Interactive Occupational Health Screening Campaign" for employees across all industries in the country. This unique online Occupational Health Evaluation Screening will help individuals to screen stress levels, review diet habits, check the quality of sleep; examine symptoms of injuries due to continual strain and take timely remedial action.

Repetitive Strain Injury or RSI, which is also known as occupational overuse syndrome, is the most commonly seen condition across workers who perform repetitive tasks compounded with poor posture resulting in injuries to muscles, tendons, nerves and other soft tissues. It is commonly seen in techies, teachers, assembly line workers etc. Wockhardt Hospitals has launched this Interactive Occupational Health Screening Campaign to help individuals detect RSI at an early stage.

This unique campaign will be run by Wockhardt Hospitals in association with will several corporates across the country. The employees of participating companies will need to fill in and submit a form which is available online at www.wockhardthospitals.net. The submitted Form will then be reviewed by a panel of experts including a General Physician, Neurologist, Dietician, Psychologist and Physiotherapist. They will make their suggestions and recommendations in less than 48 hours. The hospital has created a network of HR departments of more than 500 companies to make this campaign a success. This campaign is also open to the general public who would need to follow the same procedure.

"It is sad to see so many workers losing their jobs because of advanced RSI. Work related overuse injuries not only affects quality of work but also reduces efficacy and productivity of work. By launching this Interactive Occupational Health Screening, Wockhardt Hospitals is trying to create awareness among the people on RSI and also helping them to identify it at the earliest." says Joseph Pasangha, Chief of Rehabilitation, Wockhardt Hospitals.

Another common phenomena among computer workers today is to Google their ailments and mess themselves up with search engines' suggested 'diagnosis' and 'remedies'. According to Mr. Pasangha, this trend is probably due to the fact that the employees today are hard pressed for time and could probably visit hospitals only on weekends which are usually dedicated for the family. This is precisely why this initiative from us could be a boon for many people. The most common symptoms of RSI are Burning or Dry Eyes, Ache at the back of the Head, Pain behind Ears, Achy Shoulders, Backache, Weakness and Loss of Grip, Numbness and disturbed sleep Joseph added.

According to Joseph, RSI can be prevented by doing the following:

• Get a workstation evaluation done by a physiotherapist.
• Do not sit for more than 45 minutes at a stretch
• Take micro breaks and do simple stretches of the arms, back, neck and legs.
• Ensure that the computer screen is at an arms length from you.
• The top hood of the screen should be at eye level.
• Let the shoulders be free and not be constrained by armrests.
• With a little practice one can actually alternate mouse usage from right to left palm.
• Laptops bags can also be tossed between the right and the left shoulders.
• Take your gaze off the screen every 20 mins and look about 20 feet away and blink 20 times.