When we think about work-related injuries, we often imagine accidents. However, the state of California specifically allows workers’ compensation for so-called “cumulative” or “continuous” traumas. These types of injuries stem from the repetitive job duties performed over time resulting in an injury and disability. Many lay workers suffer from work-related wear and tear but frequently they do not realize that these types of injuries fall under workers’ compensation. Nonetheless, these are well recognized in the medical community as well as in the legal system, with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) representing approximately one third of workers’ compensation costs in US private industry.  

Cumulative traumas result from prolonged uninterrupted repetitions of an activity or motion, unnatural or awkward motions such as twisting the arm or wrist, overexertion, incorrect posture, or muscle fatigue. Such traumas are insidious in nature. Normally, after a regular injury, the body initiates its self-repair mechanisms by containing inflammation and mending the tissue. However, in case of cumulative traumas tissue is exposed to repeated microtraumas disrupting the regular repair processes. Over time, cumulative traumas cause permanent tissue damage, and affected individuals develop various conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tendonitis, epicondylitis, ganglion cyst, tenosynovitis, and trigger finger. Although cumulative traumas most often impact the hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders, they can also happen in the neck, back, hips, knees, feet, legs, and ankles.