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Occupational ( sci.med.occupational )

From [email protected] Thu Nov  3 17:29:09 1994 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Mark Bixby) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,bit.listserv.c+health,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: RFD: misc.health.rep-strain Followup-To: news.groups Date: 3 Nov 1994 15:32:12 -0500 Organization: Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, CA Lines: 55 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:5883 news.groups:122273 bit.listserv.c+health:1142 misc.health.alternative:16426 sci.med:105600 sci.med.occupational:2167  Request For Discussion ----------------------  The creation of the following unmoderated newsgroup is proposed:  For your newsgroups file: misc.health.rep-strain	Prevention, diagnosis, treatment of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  This discussion period shall not last for longer than 30 days.  Rationale and Background ------------------------  The listserv mailing list [email protected] is a forum for the  discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  Message traffic currently averages 10-20 postings per day.  A Single Transferrable Vote poll was recently conducted to  determine whether or not a bi-directional newsgroup gateway should be  established, and the preferred alternative was to establish such a gateway to  the new newsgroup sci.med.rsi.  After some sage advice from the folks at [email protected], the proposed newsgroup has been renamed to misc.health.rep-strain.  Establishing a gateway with the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational was considered, but that newgroup has a much broader scope, and its subscribers did not want to be flooded with the rsi-specific traffic that a sorehand gateway would bring.  Newsgroup Charter -----------------  Misc.health.rep-strain is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all  aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing  equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a  keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:  	Prevention through improved ergonomics.  	Diagnosis of injuries.  	Treatment of injuries.  	Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues.  	Product reviews.  	Publication of other relevant newsletters.  	Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers. --  Mark Bixby                         E-mail: [email protected] Coast Community College District   Web: http://www.cccd.edu/~markb/ District Information Services      1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA, USA  92626 Technical Support                  +1 714 432-5064  From [email protected] Wed Dec  7 13:06:51 1994 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Mark Bixby) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,bit.listserv.c+health,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: RFD: sci.med.occupational reorganization Followup-To: news.groups Date: 7 Dec 1994 12:07:41 -0500 Organization: Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, CA Lines: 92 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:6055 news.groups:126049 bit.listserv.c+health:1199 misc.health.alternative:18130 sci.med:109098 sci.med.occupational:2333  Request For Discussion ----------------------  A split of the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational into the following unmoderated groups is proposed:  For your newsgroups file: sci.med.occupational.misc	General discussion about occupational injuries. sci.med.occupational.rsi	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries.  This discussion period shall last for no longer than 30 days.  Rationale and Background ------------------------  The listserv mailing list [email protected] is a forum for the  discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  Message traffic currently averages 10-20 postings per day.  A Single Transferrable Vote poll was recently conducted to  determine whether or not a bi-directional newsgroup gateway should be  established, and the preferred alternative was to establish such a gateway to  the new newsgroup sci.med.rsi.  After some sage advice from the folks at [email protected], the proposed newsgroup was originally RFD-ed as misc.health.rep-strain.  Establishing a gateway with the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational was considered, but that newsgroup has a much broader scope, and its subscribers did not want to be flooded with the RSI-specific traffic that a sorehand gateway would bring.  The misc.health.rep-strain discussion raised two major issues.  First, supporters of an RSI group prefer the abbreviation ".rsi" instead of  ".rep-strain".  Second, and more significantly, several people pointed out that the sci.med.occupational charter was almost identical to the one contained within the RFD you are reading now.  While sci.med.occupational seems to have been intended as *the* Usenet forum to discuss RSI issues, the reality is quite different.  Traffic on this newsgroup contains very few RSI-specific articles, and covers a very broad range of occupational issues.  Perhaps this is due to a poor name plus a "newsgroups" description that does not mention RSI.  In order to follow the spirit of the original sci.med.occupational charter and to honor the desire of existing sci.med.occupational subscribers to not be  flooded with RSI-specific traffic, this RFD has been recast as a group split. Existing sci.med.occupational traffic would migrate to  sci.med.occupational.misc.  One possible objection to this scheme is that the expected traffic content on  the .rsi newsgroup would be about 80% "support" vs. 20% medical.  This  conflicts with the medical/research intent of sci.med.*, and thus some people might feel that a new newsgroup like misc.health.injuries.rsi might be more appropriate for this traffic.  Which in turn seems to conflict with the intent of sci.med.occupational being the proper forum for RSI traffic.  Thus the need for more RFD discussion.  Newsgroup Charter (sci.med.occupational.rsi) --------------------------------------------  Sci.med.occupational.rsi is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all  aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing  equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a  keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:  	Prevention through improved ergonomics.  	Talk about relevant medical studies.  	Diagnosis of injuries.  	Treatment of injuries.  	Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues.  	Product reviews.  	Publication of other relevant newsletters.  	Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.  Newsgroup Charter (sci.med.occupational.misc) ---------------------------------------------  Sci.med.occupational.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere in the sci.med.occupational.* sub-hierarchy. --  Mark Bixby                         E-mail: [email protected] Coast Community College District   Web: http://www.cccd.edu/~markb/ District Information Services      1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA, USA  92626 Technical Support                  +1 714 432-5064  From [email protected] Wed Jan  4 18:41:25 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Mark Bixby) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: RFD: sci.med.occupational reorg Followup-To: news.groups Date: 4 Jan 1995 18:32:14 -0500 Organization: Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, CA Lines: 109 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:6138 news.groups:128274 misc.health.alternative:19914 sci.med:111801 sci.med.occupational:2498  Request For Discussion ----------------------  A split of the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational into the following unmoderated newsgroups is proposed:  For your newsgroups file: misc.health.occupational.misc	General discussion about occupational injuries. misc.health.occupational.rsi	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Rationale and Background ------------------------  The listserv mailing list [email protected] is a forum for the  discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  Message traffic currently averages 10-20 postings per day.  A Single Transferrable Vote poll was conducted last summer  to determine whether or not a bi-directional newsgroup gateway should be  established, and the preferred alternative was to establish such a gateway to  the new newsgroup sci.med.rsi.  After some sage advice from the folks at [email protected], the proposed newsgroup was originally RFD-ed as misc.health.rep-strain.  Establishing a gateway with the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational was considered, but that newsgroup has a much broader scope, and its subscribers did not want to be flooded with the RSI-specific traffic that a sorehand gateway would bring.  The misc.health.rep-strain discussion raised two major issues.  First, supporters of an RSI newsgroup prefer the abbreviation ".rsi" instead of  ".rep-strain".  Second, and more significantly, several people pointed out that the sci.med.occupational charter was almost identical to the one contained within the RFD you are reading now.  While sci.med.occupational seems to have been intended as *the* Usenet forum to discuss RSI issues, the reality is quite different.  Traffic on this newsgroup contains very few RSI-specific articles, and covers a very broad range of occupational issues.  Perhaps this is due to a poor name plus a "newsgroups" description that does not mention RSI.  In order to follow the spirit of the original sci.med.occupational charter and to honor the desire of existing sci.med.occupational subscribers to not be  flooded with RSI-specific traffic, this RFD has been recast as a group split. Existing sci.med.occupational traffic would migrate to  misc.health.occupational.misc.  The expected traffic content of the .rsi newsgroup would be about 80%  "support" vs. 20% "medical", and the actual traffic content of  sci.med.occupational is mostly other than medical/research.  This conflicts  with the medical/research intent of sci.med.*, and thus the folks at [email protected] feel that both of these newsgroups belong under misc.health.occupational.*.  Newsgroup Charter (misc.health.occupational.rsi) ------------------------------------------------  Misc.health.occupational.rsi is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion  of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with  computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community  who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:  	Prevention through improved ergonomics.  	Talk about relevant medical studies.  	Diagnosis of injuries.  	Treatment of injuries.  	Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining 	to RSI.  	RSI product reviews.  	Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.  	Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.  Newsgroup Charter (misc.health.occupational.misc) -------------------------------------------------  Misc.health.occupational.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion  of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere in the  misc.health.occupational.* sub-hierarchy.  Some explicit examples:  	eye strain, radiation, and other VDT-related problems 	various gadgets to buy/avoid 	dealing with worker's compensation, and other bureaucratic nightmares 	handicap access issues while often better suited to misc.handicap,  		could be quite relevant to the group.  Misc.health.occupational.misc would NOT discuss:  	sports injuries and other general injuries  		(unless related to occupational) 	the use of computers in medicine 	new drugs (unless helpful for those injured) 	most of the randomness in sci.med  The majority of discussion will likely center around computer-specific occupational injuries, although discussion could certainly deal with other classes of occupational "blue collar" injuries. --  Mark Bixby                         E-mail: [email protected] Coast Community College District   Web: http://www.cccd.edu/~markb/ District Information Services      1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA, USA  92626 Technical Support                  +1 714 432-5064 "You can tune a file system, but you can't tune a fish." - tunefs(1M)  From [email protected] Tue Jun  6 00:08:33 1995 Status: RO Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Mark Bixby) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: RFD: misc.health.injuries.rsi.* + sci.med.occupational realignment Followup-To: news.groups Date: 5 Jun 1995 18:52:29 -0400 Organization: Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, California Lines: 434 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Xref: gs2.UU.NET news.announce.newgroups:6964 news.groups:152405 misc.health.alternative:35043 sci.med:130464 sci.med.occupational:3591                       REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)            unmoderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc           moderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated          unmoderated group sci.med.occupational (new charter)  A split/realignment of the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational into the following newsgroups is proposed:  sci.med.occupational		General discussion about occupational injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated	Experts answer questions about RSI. (Moderated)  This RFD, as well as any subsequent CFV, is being posted to the following listserv mailing lists:  	[email protected] 	[email protected] 	[email protected]  Mailing list subscribers without direct Usenet access may post their comments by e-mailing to the following POST-ONLY gateway:  	[email protected]  Mailing list subscribers interested in reading the articles posted to news.groups can learn more about a keyword-based article clipping service by sending the word HELP in the body of an e-mail message to:  	[email protected]  The RFD period shall not last longer than 14 days from initial posting to news.announce.newgroups.  Proposal Proponents -------------------  Proponent from the start of this RFD process:  	Mark Bixby		[email protected]  Chief proponent for misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated:  	Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.	[email protected]  What's New ----------  The proposed gateway with the mailing list [email protected] has been dropped, since it would not be fair to claim a continuing mandate for this idea >from a vote back in the summer of 1994.  If this newsgroup proposal passes and the sorehand community still has interest in a gateway, the issue can be re-voted within sorehand.  A moderated newsgroup has been added to provide professional answers to questions regarding RSI prevention and treatment.  Proposal Rationale ------------------  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.* sub-hierarchy will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enourmous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  The medical/ergonomic issues of RSI treatment are often complex, crossing several disciplines of the moderated group's panel members.  Proper treatment and prevention of the injury may also require resolution of legal and labor relations issues which this panel will not address at this time. These legal/labor relations experts will be added as necessary.  Time is of the essence to the ocean of RSI sufferers who's careers at a computer are threatened.  Remember, to even mildly effected RSI sufferers, every keystroke counts.  Providing instant advice by credentialed professionals, with a moderated group, is the most socially responsible response to this epidemic.  In summary, this network of keyboard users should be the first to address this endemic blight with its finest resources.  Detailed Proposal History -------------------------  The listserv mailing list [email protected] is a forum for the discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  Message traffic currently averages 10-20 postings per day.  A Single Transferrable Vote poll was conducted in the summer of 1994 to determine whether or not a bi-directional newsgroup gateway should be established, and the preferred alternative was to establish such a gateway to the new newsgroup sci.med.rsi.  After some sage advice from the folks at [email protected], the proposed newsgroup was originally RFD-ed as misc.health.rep-strain.  Establishing a gateway with the existing newsgroup sci.med.occupational was considered, but that newsgroup has a much broader scope, and its subscribers did not want to be flooded with the RSI-specific traffic that a sorehand gateway would bring.  The misc.health.rep-strain discussion raised two major issues.  First, supporters of an RSI newsgroup prefer the abbreviation ".rsi" instead of ".rep-strain".  Second, and more significantly, several people pointed out that the sci.med.occupational charter was almost identical to the one contained within the RFD you are reading now.  While sci.med.occupational seems to have been intended as *the* Usenet forum to discuss RSI issues, the reality is quite different.  Traffic on this newsgroup contains very few RSI-specific articles, and covers a very broad range of occupational issues.  Perhaps this is due to a poor name plus a "newsgroups" description that does not mention RSI.  The previous incarnation of this RFD proposed a split of sci.med.occupational into misc.health.occupational.misc and .rsi, but this idea was opposed by sci.med.occupational subscribers.  The only change to sci.med.occupational now being proposed is to move some of the RSI-specific items out of the existing sci.med.occupational charter and into the new misc.health.injuries.rsi.* sub-hierarchy.  Possible questions on the need for a moderated group ----------------------------------------------------  Why does RSI need a seperate moderated newsgroup?  Those who need to ask this question demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the complexity, severity, and medical urgency of the RSI epidemic.  More than an "epidemic", RSI is now *endemic*, or native, to the keyboarding population.  The proposed panel of medical experts will be performing, what is essentially "emergency duty", analogous to the preparation for medical treatment seen during triage on the M*A*S*H television show.  Statistics prove that comparison to the war conditions in this program is *not* inappropriate.  A "War on RSI" is necessary!  Medical experts should not share the stage of authoritative replies with the confusion, anger, and often medically dangerous lay advice of the RSI audience itself.  Nor should they share this stage with the plethora of uncredentialled "consultants" that currently try to make a living by commanding and crowding the bulk of bandwidth in existing listserves.  In other words, if a voice of clarity and authority *can* be raised to help stop this crippling and enormous threat brought on by our own technology, which is even accentuated by Internet use itself, it deserves an undisturbed forum.  And, yes, the necessity for moderation by definition means it *should* focus attention and choose the most important issues for medical comment.  The RSI suffering public is besieged by many distracting concerns.   Will the panel allow posts only if it agrees with the writer?  The point about whether the panel would post only "if we personally agree..." deserves comment.  Good medical care is not performed by gathered consensus of public opinion or popularity of the speaker.  In contrast, second opinions by qualified physicians concerning primary care options should always play a role in patient decisions.  And most importantly, cyberspace advice can never substitute for an experienced primary care evaluation.  Preventive medical/ergonomic advice is meant to empower the sufferer to solve their own problems in concert with qualified medical care.  These opinions may not be the only "correct" opinions, but the recipient will  be confident that this information source represents some of the most qualified, credentialed, and balanced medical/ergonomic authorities available anywhere.  The principle of medical/ergonomic moderation is a critical step forward. It is far from most current listserve postings in which amateur "medical" advice by personal anecdote represents experimental samples of one.  This type of advice is not meant to be malicious but can have deleterious effects.  General discussion channels can afford to let threads wind endlessly. Current listserves provide an uncontrolled channel for misleading, wasteful, politicized, angry, and distracting dialogue which is very often irrelevent to resolution of a health issues.  This type of venting may serve a valuable role in the larger perspective, but to allow it to obfuscate medical advice serves no one.  This is not unusual as all therapeutic modalities require professional moderation and direction to focus attention on healing!   Expert moderation panel charter members ---------------------------------------  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator) Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D.--Ergonomics Karen L. Schneider, MBA, OTR, CHT--Clinical Occupational Therapy Garry S. Brody, M.D.--Medical Director, USC Hand Rehabilitation Center Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--Chief of Hand Surgery USC Medical Center Joan F. Wright, M.D.--Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery, RSIs John Shen, M.D.--Physical Medicine/Diagnostics Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--Spinal Disorders/Surgery Michael Patzakis, M.D.--Osteomyelitis and Joint Infections Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--Disorders/Surgery of the Knees & Shoulders  Article submission address:	[email protected] Moderator contact address:	[email protected]  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator)  	During doctoral research in Exercise Physiology/Biomechanics at the University of Southern California, Jonathan completed groundbreaking electromyographic (EMG) research on RSIs to the forearm.  Dr. Bailin's RSI advice has been implemented globally in locations including Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  	Currently, Jonathan produces seminars, writes and speaks on ergonomic topics, consults for Los Angeles firms, and continues further RSI research at USC.  He also moderates a panel of RSI experts (see below) in a newsgroup on the USC internet called "usc.health.carpal-tunnel".  Dr. Bailin acts as Chief Consultant for Ergotech Inc. and Medical Editor for a new ergonomics newsletter called ErgoNews.  He can be reached at [email protected]   Najmedin "Naj" Meshkati, Ph.D.--ERGONOMICS  Dr. Meshkati is Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics, the Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management, and teaches at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).  Dr. Meshkati is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE # 650) and is a member of the Review Panel for the National Research Council (NRC), which is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Meshkati has consulted for such organizations as: Aerospace Corporation, ARCO, Aviotex Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orange County Transit District, Perceptronics Inc., Pneumo Abex Corporation, Rockwell International, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, United Parcel Service, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the US Navy.  He is also in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Coordinated Research Programme on Human Error Classification and Data Collection.   Karen L. Schneider, M.B.A., O.T.R., C.H.T.--OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST  Ms. Schneider, is a registered occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with 15 years of hand rehabilitation experience.  As Director and Aministrator of the Hand Rehabilitation Center at the USC University Hospital, Karen is versed on the many changes in workers' compensation laws and the health care environment.  Ms. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC.   Garry S. Brody, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Brody founded and directed the first  comprehensive hand rehabilitation center in California in the city of Downey 20 years ago.  He is past president of the American Association for Hand Surgery and is a professor of plastic surgery at USC.  As Medical Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Brody oversees the medical components of the program.  He is currently president-elect of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Dr. Brody's special interests include chronic trauma and upper extremity pain syndromes.   Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Schnall serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Surgery at Los Angeles County and USC Medical Centers.  He is a Joseph H. Boyes Hand Fellow and co-directs this program at USC which is the oldest formal fellowship for surgery of the hand in the United States.  In 1990, Dr. Schnall earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.    He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.   Joan F. Wright, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive) at USC University Medical Center with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.  She has a special interest in cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) or repetitive trauma disorders linked to repetitive activities and/or vibrating tools.  Dr. Wright is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, American College of Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.   John Shen, M.D.-MEDICAL  Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the USC University Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is the Medical Center's leading specialist in performing electromyographic and neural conduction tests for RSIs as he is Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Hume-Neal is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics at the USC University Medical Center.  She is Chief of the Orthopaedic Spine Service at the Los Angeles County and USC University Hospital Medical Centers and is Director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at the University Hospital.  She has held spinal surgery fellowships in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.  She is a Board Certified Diplomate by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Michael Patzakis, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Patzakis is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at USC's School of Medicine.  He is Chief of the Orthopaedic Infection Service with special interests in joint infections and infected non-unions at the LA County and USC Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Vangsness is Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics at the USC School of Medicine.  He performed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood, California. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Othopaedic Surgery.   Sci.med.occupational (unmoderated) Newsgroup Charter ----------------------------------------------------  Sci.med.occupational is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere.  Some explicit examples:  	eye strain, radiation, and other VDT-related problems 	various gadgets to buy/avoid 	dealing with worker's compensation, and other bureaucratic nightmares 	handicap access issues while often better suited to misc.handicap, 		could be quite relevant to the group.  Sci.med.occupational would NOT discuss:  	sports injuries and other general injuries 		(unless related to occupational) 	the use of computers in medicine 	new drugs (unless helpful for those injured) 	most of the randomness in sci.med  The majority of discussion will likely center around computer-specific occupational injuries, although discussion could certainly deal with other classes of occupational "blue collar" injuries.  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc (unmoderated) Newsgroup Charter -------------------------------------------------------------  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI. Most of the traffic on this newsgroup is anticipated to be of the sufferer-to-sufferer variety.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:  	Prevention through improved ergonomics.  	Talk about relevant medical studies.  	Diagnosis of injuries.  	Treatment of injuries.  	Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining 	to RSI.  	RSI product reviews.  	Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.  	Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.  	I live in :  		Which local physicians specialize in RSI? 		Which local store sells ergonomic furniture? 		Can anybody recommend a good local work-comp lawyer? 		etc...  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated (moderated) Newsgroup Charter ----------------------------------------------------------------  This newsgroup is dedicated to producing an educated consumer, the most important partner in the RSI prevention and healing process. The FAQ orientation for this group will be posted weekly, and shall clarify much of the RSI confusion for the reader with the fewest possible keystrokes. Questions not answered by this orientation will be passed to the best RSI medical authorities available.  This group's primary mission is to prevent RSI.  Its secondary mission is to educate sufferers so that their treatment has the best chance of success.  *All medical and ergonomic information will be dispensed by the expert panel*  This is a critical aspect of this format which sets it apart from current discussion groups in which personal anecdotes and friendly advice are given without regard for possible deliterious effect on others.  The expert panel's advice will never be a substitute for actual medical treatment.  Its first priority will be to get sufferers to proper medical attention forearmed with the knowledge to participate as educated partners in treatment.  Your questions, answers, and comments will be submitted to an expert panel of health care practitioners in the field of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Their reply to you will be posted in this group.  Your inquiry will not be handled if it appears that you have not read the Frequently Asked Questions orientation document below. This FAQ has been designed to focus discussion and solve many, if not most, computer use health questions.  It has been used in such far flung places as Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  The Panel's FAQ can be found currently at:  	 -- Mark Bixby                      E-mail: [email protected] Coast Community College Dist.   Web: http://www.cccd.edu/~markb/ District Information Services   1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA, USA 92626-5429 Technical Support               +1 714 432-5865 x7064 "You can tune a file system, but you can't tune a fish." - tunefs(1M)   From [email protected] Mon Aug 21 17:12:21 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Jim Davis) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: CFV: misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} Followup-To: poster Date: 21 Aug 1995 21:12:18 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 459 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Expires: 12 Sep 1995 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: sci.med.occupational-reorg Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7395 news.groups:165355 misc.health.alternative:42974 sci.med:140238 sci.med.occupational:4102                        FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2)            unmoderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc           moderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  NEWSGROUP LINES  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc   All about Repetitive Strain Injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated      Experts answer questions about RSI (Moderated). sci.med.occupational    Job injuries except RSI (cf misc.health.injuries.rsi.*).  Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 11 Sep 1995.  This CFV will be also be sent to the mailing lists at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]  This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party.  For voting questions only contact Jim Davis <[email protected]>.  For questions about the proposed groups contact Mark Bixby <[email protected]> or Jonathan Bailin Ph.D., <[email protected]>.  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enormous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc provides a wide-ranging unmoderated forum for the discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  The creation of this newsgroup will help to raise the profile of RSI in both the online and medical communities, hopefully leading to fewer injuries through prevention, as well as increased awareness of effective treatments.   RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enourmous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  The medical/ergonomic issues of RSI treatment are often complex, crossing several disciplines of the moderated group's panel members.  Proper treatment and prevention of the injury may also require resolution of legal and labor relations issues which this panel will not address at this time. These legal/labor relations experts will be added as necessary.  Time is of the essence to the ocean of RSI sufferers who's careers at a computer are threatened.  Remember, to even mildly effected RSI sufferers, every keystroke counts.  Providing instant advice by credentialed professionals, with a moderated group, is the most socially responsible response to this epidemic.  In summary, this network of keyboard users should be the first to address this endemic blight with its finest resources.  Why does RSI need a seperate moderated newsgroup?  Those who need to ask this question demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the complexity, severity, and medical urgency of the RSI epidemic.  More than an "epidemic", RSI is now *endemic*, or native, to the keyboarding population.  The proposed panel of medical experts will be performing, what is essentially "emergency duty", analogous to the preparation for medical treatment seen during triage on the M*A*S*H television show.  Statistics prove that comparison to the war conditions in this program is *not* inappropriate.  A "War on RSI" is necessary!  Medical experts should not share the stage of authoritative replies with the confusion, anger, and often medically dangerous lay advice of the RSI audience itself.  Nor should they share this stage with the plethora of uncredentialled "consultants" that currently try to make a living by commanding and crowding the bulk of bandwidth in existing listserves.  In other words, if a voice of clarity and authority *can* be raised to help stop this crippling and enormous threat brought on by our own technology, which is even accentuated by Internet use itself, it deserves an undisturbed forum.  And, yes, the necessity for moderation by definition means it *should* focus attention and choose the most important issues for medical comment.  The RSI suffering public is besieged by many distracting concerns.  Will the panel allow posts only if it agrees with the writer?  The point about whether the panel would post only "if we personally agree..." deserves comment.  Good medical care is not performed by gathered consensus of public opinion or popularity of the speaker.  In contrast, second opinions by qualified physicians concerning primary care options should always play a role in patient decisions.  And most importantly, cyberspace advice can never substitute for an experienced primary care evaluation.  Preventive medical/ergonomic advice is meant to empower the sufferer to solve their own problems in concert with qualified medical care.  These opinions may not be the only "correct" opinions, but the recipient will  be confident that this information source represents some of the most qualified, credentialed, and balanced medical/ergonomic authorities available anywhere.  The principle of medical/ergonomic moderation is a critical step forward. It is far from most current listserve postings in which amateur "medical" advice by personal anecdote represents experimental samples of one.  This type of advice is not meant to be malicious but can have deleterious effects.  General discussion channels can afford to let threads wind endlessly. Current listserves provide an uncontrolled channel for misleading, wasteful, politicized, angry, and distracting dialogue which is very often irrelevent to resolution of a health issues.  This type of venting may serve a valuable role in the larger perspective, but to allow it to obfuscate medical advice serves no one.  This is not unusual as all therapeutic modalities require professional moderation and direction to focus attention on healing!  RATIONALE: sci.med.occupational  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.* is intended to be the primary place to talk about Repetitive Strain Injuries on Usenet, and so the *only* modification being done to the existing sci.med.occupational charter is to remove the explicit references to RSI.  This should reduce the chance for confusion between sci.med.occupational and misc.health.injuries.rsi.*.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI. Most of the traffic on this newsgroup is anticipated to be of the sufferer-to-sufferer variety.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:          Prevention through improved ergonomics.          Talk about relevant medical studies.          Diagnosis of injuries.          Treatment of injuries.          Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining         to RSI.          RSI product reviews.          Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.          Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.          I live in :                  Which local physicians specialize in RSI?                 Which local store sells ergonomic furniture?                 Can anybody recommend a good local work-comp lawyer?                 etc...  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Moderator:      Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.  [email protected] Submission:     [email protected] Contact:        [email protected]  This newsgroup is dedicated to producing an educated consumer, the most important partner in the RSI prevention and healing process.  The FAQ orientation for this group will be posted weekly, and shall clarify much of the RSI confusion for the reader with the fewest possible keystrokes. Questions not answered by this orientation will be passed to the best RSI medical authorities available.  This group's primary mission is to prevent RSI.  Its secondary mission is to educate sufferers so that their treatment has the best chance of success.  *All medical and ergonomic information will be dispensed by the expert panel* This is a critical aspect of this format which sets it apart from current discussion groups in which personal anecdotes and friendly advice are given without regard for possible deliterious effect on others.  The expert panel's advice will never be a substitute for actual medical treatment.  Its first priority will be to get sufferers to proper medical attention forearmed with the knowledge to participate as educated partners in treatment.  Your questions, answers, and comments will be submitted to an expert panel of health care practitioners in the field of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Their reply to you will be posted in this group.  Your inquiry will not be handled if it appears that you have not read the Frequently Asked Questions orientation document below.  This FAQ has been designed to focus discussion and solve many, if not most, computer use health questions.  It has been used in such far flung places as Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  The Panel's FAQ can be found currently at:            END CHARTER.  CHARTER: sci.med.occupational  Sci.med.occupational is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere.  Some explicit examples:          eye strain, radiation, and other VDT-related problems         various gadgets to buy/avoid         dealing with worker's compensation, and other bureaucratic nightmares         handicap access issues while often better suited to misc.handicap,                 could be quite relevant to the group.  Sci.med.occupational would NOT discuss:          sports injuries and other general injuries                 (unless related to occupational)         the use of computers in medicine         new drugs (unless helpful for those injured)         most of the randomness in sci.med  The majority of discussion will likely center around computer-specific occupational injuries, although discussion could certainly deal with other classes of occupational "blue collar" injuries.  END CHARTER.  MODERATOR INFO: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Expert moderation panel charter members  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator) Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D.--Ergonomics Karen L. Schneider, MBA, OTR, CHT--Clinical Occupational Therapy Garry S. Brody, M.D.--Medical Director, USC Hand Rehabilitation Center Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--Chief of Hand Surgery USC Medical Center Joan F. Wright, M.D.--Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery, RSIs John Shen, M.D.--Physical Medicine/Diagnostics Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--Spinal Disorders/Surgery Michael Patzakis, M.D.--Osteomyelitis and Joint Infections Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--Disorders/Surgery of the Knees & Shoulders   Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator)          During doctoral research in Exercise Physiology/Biomechanics at the University of Southern California, Jonathan completed groundbreaking electromyographic (EMG) research on RSIs to the forearm.  Dr. Bailin's RSI advice has been implemented globally in locations including Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.          Currently, Jonathan produces seminars, writes and speaks on ergonomic topics, consults for Los Angeles firms, and continues further RSI research at USC.  He also moderates a panel of RSI experts (see below) in a newsgroup on the USC internet called "usc.health.carpal-tunnel".  Dr. Bailin acts as Chief Consultant for Ergotech Inc. and Medical Editor for a new ergonomics newsletter called ErgoNews.  He can be reached at [email protected]   Najmedin "Naj" Meshkati, Ph.D.--ERGONOMICS  Dr. Meshkati is Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics, the Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management, and teaches at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).  Dr. Meshkati is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE # 650) and is a member of the Review Panel for the National Research Council (NRC), which is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Meshkati has consulted for such organizations as: Aerospace Corporation, ARCO, Aviotex Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orange County Transit District, Perceptronics Inc., Pneumo Abex Corporation, Rockwell International, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, United Parcel Service, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the US Navy.  He is also in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Coordinated Research Programme on Human Error Classification and Data Collection.   Karen L. Schneider, M.B.A., O.T.R., C.H.T.--OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST  Ms. Schneider, is a registered occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with 15 years of hand rehabilitation experience.  As Director and Aministrator of the Hand Rehabilitation Center at the USC University Hospital, Karen is versed on the many changes in workers' compensation laws and the health care environment.  Ms. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC.   Garry S. Brody, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Brody founded and directed the first  comprehensive hand rehabilitation center in California in the city of Downey 20 years ago.  He is past president of the American Association for Hand Surgery and is a professor of plastic surgery at USC.  As Medical Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Brody oversees the medical components of the program.  He is currently president-elect of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Dr. Brody's special interests include chronic trauma and upper extremity pain syndromes.   Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Schnall serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Surgery at Los Angeles County and USC Medical Centers.  He is a Joseph H. Boyes Hand Fellow and co-directs this program at USC which is the oldest formal fellowship for surgery of the hand in the United States.  In 1990, Dr. Schnall earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.    He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.   Joan F. Wright, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive) at USC University Medical Center with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.  She has a special interest in cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) or repetitive trauma disorders linked to repetitive activities and/or vibrating tools.  Dr. Wright is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, American College of Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.   John Shen, M.D.-MEDICAL  Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the USC University Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is the Medical Center's leading specialist in performing electromyographic and neural conduction tests for RSIs as he is Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Hume-Neal is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics at the USC University Medical Center.  She is Chief of the Orthopaedic Spine Service at the Los Angeles County and USC University Hospital Medical Centers and is Director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at the University Hospital.  She has held spinal surgery fellowships in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.  She is a Board Certified Diplomate by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Michael Patzakis, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Patzakis is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at USC's School of Medicine.  He is Chief of the Orthopaedic Infection Service with special interests in joint infections and infected non-unions at the LA County and USC Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Vangsness is Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics at the USC School of Medicine.  He performed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood, California. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Othopaedic Surgery.  HOW TO VOTE  Erase everything above the top "-=-=-=-" line and erase everything below the bottom "-=-=-=-" line.  Do not erase anything between these lines and do not change the group names.   Give your name on the line that asks for it. For each group, place a YES or NO in the brackets next to it to vote for or against it.  If you don't want to vote on a particular group, just leave the space blank.  Don't worry about spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts.  Then mail the ballot to: [email protected] Just Replying to this message should work, but check the "To:" line.  -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- misc.health.injuries.rsi newsgroups Ballot     (Don't remove this marker)  Give your real name here:  [Your Vote]  Group ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [ YES     ]  example.yes.vote [ NO      ]  example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ]  example.abstention  [         ]  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc [         ]  misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated -=-=-=-=-=- Don't Delete Anything Between These Lines =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES  You may also ABSTAIN in place of YES/NO - this will not affect the outcome.  Anything else may be rejected by the automatic vote counting program.  You should receive an automatic acknowledgment of your vote within three days.  If you do not, contact the votetaker about the problem.  It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly.  Only one vote per person, no more than one vote per account. Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results list.  Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote.  Anonymous votes will not be accepted.  Votes mailed by WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered anonymous votes.  (The vote must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.)  In cases where voting fraud is determined to have occurred, it is standard operating procedure to delete ALL votes submitted by the violator.  If you give anyone a copy of the CFV, it must be whole and unmodified.  When in doubt, ask the votetaker.  OFFICIAL SOURCES OF THE CFV  The only official sources for copies of this CFV are the Usenet newsgroups to which it is posted by the votetaker, including news.announce.newgroups, the mailing lists to which it is sent by the votetaker, and the votetaker.  From [email protected] Tue Sep 12 15:40:17 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: [email protected] (Jim Davis) Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: CFV CANCELLED: misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} Followup-To: news.groups Date: 12 Sep 1995 19:40:14 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 7 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: sci.med.occupational-reorg Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7486 news.groups:167301 misc.health.alternative:45686 sci.med:142644 sci.med.occupational:4235  The current vote on misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} has been canceled because of email problems at the votetaker's site.  A new Call For Votes will be sent out soon.  Since the vote will be starting over from the beginning you will need to vote again; ballots from the current vote will not be carried over to the new vote.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience.   From [email protected] Tue Sep 12 15:42:24 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: Jan Isley <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: CFV: misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} (revote) Followup-To: poster Date: 12 Sep 1995 19:42:19 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 448 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Expires: 4 Oct 1995 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <[email protected]> Reply-To: Jan Isley <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: sci.med.occupational-reorg Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7502 news.groups:167318 misc.health.alternative:45688 sci.med:142647 sci.med.occupational:4236                       FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2)            unmoderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc           moderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Newsgroups lines: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated	Experts answer questions about RSI (Moderated). sci.med.occupational	Job injuries except RSI (cf misc.health.injuries.rsi.*).  Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 3 Oct 1995.  This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party.  Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent.  Proponent: Mark Bixby <[email protected]> Proponent: Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. <[email protected]> Votetaker: Jan Isley <[email protected]>  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enormous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc provides a wide-ranging unmoderated forum for the discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  The creation of this newsgroup will help to raise the profile of RSI in both the online and medical communities, hopefully leading to fewer injuries through prevention, as well as increased awareness of effective treatments.  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enourmous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  The medical/ergonomic issues of RSI treatment are often complex, crossing several disciplines of the moderated group's panel members.  Proper treatment and prevention of the injury may also require resolution of legal and labor relations issues which this panel will not address at this time. These legal/labor relations experts will be added as necessary.  Time is of the essence to the ocean of RSI sufferers who's careers at a computer are threatened.  Remember, to even mildly effected RSI sufferers, every keystroke counts.  Providing instant advice by credentialed professionals, with a moderated group, is the most socially responsible response to this epidemic.  In summary, this network of keyboard users should be the first to address this endemic blight with its finest resources.  Why does RSI need a seperate moderated newsgroup?  Those who need to ask this question demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the complexity, severity, and medical urgency of the RSI epidemic.  More than an "epidemic", RSI is now *endemic*, or native, to the keyboarding population.  The proposed panel of medical experts will be performing, what is essentially "emergency duty", analogous to the preparation for medical treatment seen during triage on the M*A*S*H television show.  Statistics prove that comparison to the war conditions in this program is *not* inappropriate.  A "War on RSI" is necessary!  Medical experts should not share the stage of authoritative replies with the confusion, anger, and often medically dangerous lay advice of the RSI audience itself.  Nor should they share this stage with the plethora of uncredentialled "consultants" that currently try to make a living by commanding and crowding the bulk of bandwidth in existing listserves.  In other words, if a voice of clarity and authority *can* be raised to help stop this crippling and enormous threat brought on by our own technology, which is even accentuated by Internet use itself, it deserves an undisturbed forum.  And, yes, the necessity for moderation by definition means it *should* focus attention and choose the most important issues for medical comment.  The RSI suffering public is besieged by many distracting concerns.  Will the panel allow posts only if it agrees with the writer?  The point about whether the panel would post only "if we personally agree..." deserves comment.  Good medical care is not performed by gathered consensus of public opinion or popularity of the speaker.  In contrast, second opinions by qualified physicians concerning primary care options should always play a role in patient decisions.  And most importantly, cyberspace advice can never substitute for an experienced primary care evaluation.  Preventive medical/ergonomic advice is meant to empower the sufferer to solve their own problems in concert with qualified medical care.  These opinions may not be the only "correct" opinions, but the recipient will be confident that this information source represents some of the most qualified, credentialed, and balanced medical/ergonomic authorities available anywhere.  The principle of medical/ergonomic moderation is a critical step forward. It is far from most current listserve postings in which amateur "medical" advice by personal anecdote represents experimental samples of one.  This type of advice is not meant to be malicious but can have deleterious effects.  General discussion channels can afford to let threads wind endlessly. Current listserves provide an uncontrolled channel for misleading, wasteful, politicized, angry, and distracting dialogue which is very often irrelevent to resolution of a health issues.  This type of venting may serve a valuable role in the larger perspective, but to allow it to obfuscate medical advice serves no one.  This is not unusual as all therapeutic modalities require professional moderation and direction to focus attention on healing!  RATIONALE: sci.med.occupational  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.* is intended to be the primary place to talk about Repetitive Strain Injuries on Usenet, and so the *only* modification being done to the existing sci.med.occupational charter is to remove the explicit references to RSI.  This should reduce the chance for confusion between sci.med.occupational and misc.health.injuries.rsi.*.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI. Most of the traffic on this newsgroup is anticipated to be of the sufferer-to-sufferer variety.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:          Prevention through improved ergonomics.          Talk about relevant medical studies.          Diagnosis of injuries.          Treatment of injuries.          Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining         to RSI.          RSI product reviews.          Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.          Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.          I live in :                  Which local physicians specialize in RSI?                 Which local store sells ergonomic furniture?                 Can anybody recommend a good local work-comp lawyer?                 etc...  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  This newsgroup is dedicated to producing an educated consumer, the most important partner in the RSI prevention and healing process.  The FAQ orientation for this group will be posted weekly, and shall clarify much of the RSI confusion for the reader with the fewest possible keystrokes. Questions not answered by this orientation will be passed to the best RSI medical authorities available.  This group's primary mission is to prevent RSI.  Its secondary mission is to educate sufferers so that their treatment has the best chance of success.  *All medical and ergonomic information will be dispensed by the expert panel* This is a critical aspect of this format which sets it apart from current discussion groups in which personal anecdotes and friendly advice are given without regard for possible deliterious effect on others.  The expert panel's advice will never be a substitute for actual medical treatment.  Its first priority will be to get sufferers to proper medical attention forearmed with the knowledge to participate as educated partners in treatment.  Your questions, answers, and comments will be submitted to an expert panel of health care practitioners in the field of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Their reply to you will be posted in this group.  Your inquiry will not be handled if it appears that you have not read the Frequently Asked Questions orientation document below.  This FAQ has been designed to focus discussion and solve many, if not most, computer use health questions.  It has been used in such far flung places as Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  The Panel's FAQ can be found currently at:       Moderator: Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. <[email protected]> Submission address: <[email protected]> Contact address: <[email protected]>  Expert moderation panel charter members:  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator) Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D.--Ergonomics Karen L. Schneider, MBA, OTR, CHT--Clinical Occupational Therapy Garry S. Brody, M.D.--Medical Director, USC Hand Rehabilitation Center Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--Chief of Hand Surgery USC Medical Center Joan F. Wright, M.D.--Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery, RSIs John Shen, M.D.--Physical Medicine/Diagnostics Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--Spinal Disorders/Surgery Michael Patzakis, M.D.--Osteomyelitis and Joint Infections Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--Disorders/Surgery of the Knees & Shoulders   Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator)          During doctoral research in Exercise Physiology/Biomechanics at the University of Southern California, Jonathan completed groundbreaking electromyographic (EMG) research on RSIs to the forearm.  Dr. Bailin's RSI advice has been implemented globally in locations including Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.          Currently, Jonathan produces seminars, writes and speaks on ergonomic topics, consults for Los Angeles firms, and continues further RSI research at USC.  He also moderates a panel of RSI experts (see below) in a newsgroup on the USC internet called "usc.health.carpal-tunnel".  Dr. Bailin acts as Chief Consultant for Ergotech Inc. and Medical Editor for a new ergonomics newsletter called ErgoNews.  He can be reached at [email protected]   Najmedin "Naj" Meshkati, Ph.D.--ERGONOMICS  Dr. Meshkati is Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics, the Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management, and teaches at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).  Dr. Meshkati is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE # 650) and is a member of the Review Panel for the National Research Council (NRC), which is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Meshkati has consulted for such organizations as: Aerospace Corporation, ARCO, Aviotex Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orange County Transit District, Perceptronics Inc., Pneumo Abex Corporation, Rockwell International, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, United Parcel Service, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the US Navy.  He is also in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Coordinated Research Programme on Human Error Classification and Data Collection.   Karen L. Schneider, M.B.A., O.T.R., C.H.T.--OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST  Ms. Schneider, is a registered occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with 15 years of hand rehabilitation experience.  As Director and Aministrator of the Hand Rehabilitation Center at the USC University Hospital, Karen is versed on the many changes in workers' compensation laws and the health care environment.  Ms. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC.   Garry S. Brody, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Brody founded and directed the first  comprehensive hand rehabilitation center in California in the city of Downey 20 years ago.  He is past president of the American Association for Hand Surgery and is a professor of plastic surgery at USC.  As Medical Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Brody oversees the medical components of the program.  He is currently president-elect of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Dr. Brody's special interests include chronic trauma and upper extremity pain syndromes.   Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Schnall serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Surgery at Los Angeles County and USC Medical Centers.  He is a Joseph H. Boyes Hand Fellow and co-directs this program at USC which is the oldest formal fellowship for surgery of the hand in the United States.  In 1990, Dr. Schnall earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.    He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.   Joan F. Wright, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive) at USC University Medical Center with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.  She has a special interest in cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) or repetitive trauma disorders linked to repetitive activities and/or vibrating tools.  Dr. Wright is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, American College of Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.   John Shen, M.D.-MEDICAL  Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the USC University Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is the Medical Center's leading specialist in performing electromyographic and neural conduction tests for RSIs as he is Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Hume-Neal is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics at the USC University Medical Center.  She is Chief of the Orthopaedic Spine Service at the Los Angeles County and USC University Hospital Medical Centers and is Director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at the University Hospital.  She has held spinal surgery fellowships in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.  She is a Board Certified Diplomate by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Michael Patzakis, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Patzakis is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at USC's School of Medicine.  He is Chief of the Orthopaedic Infection Service with special interests in joint infections and infected non-unions at the LA County and USC Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Vangsness is Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics at the USC School of Medicine.  He performed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood, California. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Othopaedic Surgery.  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: sci.med.occupational  Sci.med.occupational is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere.  Some explicit examples:          eye strain, radiation, and other VDT-related problems         various gadgets to buy/avoid         dealing with worker's compensation, and other bureaucratic nightmares         handicap access issues while often better suited to misc.handicap,                 could be quite relevant to the group.  Sci.med.occupational would NOT discuss:          sports injuries and other general injuries                 (unless related to occupational)         the use of computers in medicine         new drugs (unless helpful for those injured)         most of the randomness in sci.med  The majority of discussion will likely center around computer-specific occupational injuries, although discussion could certainly deal with other classes of occupational "blue collar" injuries.  END CHARTER.  HOW TO VOTE:  You should send E-MAIL (posts to a newsgroup are invalid) to:        [email protected]  Please do not assume that just replying to this message will work. Check the address before you mail your vote.  Your mail message should contain one and only one of the following vote statements for each group you wish to vote on:        I vote YES on misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc       I vote NO on misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc        I vote YES misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated       I vote NO misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  You may also vote ABSTAIN or CANCEL but these are not counted as valid votes for the total count.  If your mail software does not indicate your real name, please also include the following statement and add your name (on the same line).       Give your real name here:  IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES:  Standard Guidelines for voting apply.  One person, one vote.  Votes must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.  Anonymous, forwarded or proxy votes are not valid.  Votes mailed by WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered to be anonymous votes.  Vote counting is automated.  Failure to follow these directions may mean that your vote does not get counted.  If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem.  It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly.  Duplicate votes are resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote.  Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results post.  The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest of persons who would read a proposed newsgroup.  Soliciting votes from disinterested parties defeats this purpose.  Please do not distribute this CFV.  If you must, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups.  Distributing pre-marked or otherwise edited copies of this CFV is generally considered to be vote fraud. When in doubt, ask the votetaker.  DISTRIBUTION:  In addition to the groups named in the Newsgroups: header, the CFV and the eventual RESULT posts will be mailed to the mailing lists:  [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]  --  Jan Isley <[email protected]> votes to: <[email protected]>  From [email protected] Fri Sep 22 01:03:08 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: Jan Isley <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: 2nd CFV: misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} (revote) Followup-To: poster Date: 22 Sep 1995 05:03:01 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 468 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Expires: 4 Oct 1995 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <[email protected]> Reply-To: Jan Isley <[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: sci.med.occupational-reorg Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7589 news.groups:168106 misc.health.alternative:46704 sci.med:144524 sci.med.occupational:4288                        LAST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2)            unmoderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc           moderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Newsgroups lines: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated	Experts answer questions about RSI (Moderated). sci.med.occupational	Job injuries except RSI (cf misc.health.injuries.rsi.*).  Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 3 Oct 1995.  This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party.  Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent.  Proponent: Mark Bixby <[email protected]> Proponent: Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. <[email protected]> Votetaker: Jan Isley <[email protected]>  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enormous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc provides a wide-ranging unmoderated forum for the discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  The creation of this newsgroup will help to raise the profile of RSI in both the online and medical communities, hopefully leading to fewer injuries through prevention, as well as increased awareness of effective treatments.  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enourmous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  The medical/ergonomic issues of RSI treatment are often complex, crossing several disciplines of the moderated group's panel members.  Proper treatment and prevention of the injury may also require resolution of legal and labor relations issues which this panel will not address at this time. These legal/labor relations experts will be added as necessary.  Time is of the essence to the ocean of RSI sufferers who's careers at a computer are threatened.  Remember, to even mildly effected RSI sufferers, every keystroke counts.  Providing instant advice by credentialed professionals, with a moderated group, is the most socially responsible response to this epidemic.  In summary, this network of keyboard users should be the first to address this endemic blight with its finest resources.  Why does RSI need a seperate moderated newsgroup?  Those who need to ask this question demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the complexity, severity, and medical urgency of the RSI epidemic.  More than an "epidemic", RSI is now *endemic*, or native, to the keyboarding population.  The proposed panel of medical experts will be performing, what is essentially "emergency duty", analogous to the preparation for medical treatment seen during triage on the M*A*S*H television show.  Statistics prove that comparison to the war conditions in this program is *not* inappropriate.  A "War on RSI" is necessary!  Medical experts should not share the stage of authoritative replies with the confusion, anger, and often medically dangerous lay advice of the RSI audience itself.  Nor should they share this stage with the plethora of uncredentialled "consultants" that currently try to make a living by commanding and crowding the bulk of bandwidth in existing listserves.  In other words, if a voice of clarity and authority *can* be raised to help stop this crippling and enormous threat brought on by our own technology, which is even accentuated by Internet use itself, it deserves an undisturbed forum.  And, yes, the necessity for moderation by definition means it *should* focus attention and choose the most important issues for medical comment.  The RSI suffering public is besieged by many distracting concerns.  Will the panel allow posts only if it agrees with the writer?  The point about whether the panel would post only "if we personally agree..." deserves comment.  Good medical care is not performed by gathered consensus of public opinion or popularity of the speaker.  In contrast, second opinions by qualified physicians concerning primary care options should always play a role in patient decisions.  And most importantly, cyberspace advice can never substitute for an experienced primary care evaluation.  Preventive medical/ergonomic advice is meant to empower the sufferer to solve their own problems in concert with qualified medical care.  These opinions may not be the only "correct" opinions, but the recipient will be confident that this information source represents some of the most qualified, credentialed, and balanced medical/ergonomic authorities available anywhere.  The principle of medical/ergonomic moderation is a critical step forward. It is far from most current listserve postings in which amateur "medical" advice by personal anecdote represents experimental samples of one.  This type of advice is not meant to be malicious but can have deleterious effects.  General discussion channels can afford to let threads wind endlessly. Current listserves provide an uncontrolled channel for misleading, wasteful, politicized, angry, and distracting dialogue which is very often irrelevent to resolution of a health issues.  This type of venting may serve a valuable role in the larger perspective, but to allow it to obfuscate medical advice serves no one.  This is not unusual as all therapeutic modalities require professional moderation and direction to focus attention on healing!  RATIONALE: sci.med.occupational  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.* is intended to be the primary place to talk about Repetitive Strain Injuries on Usenet, and so the *only* modification being done to the existing sci.med.occupational charter is to remove the explicit references to RSI.  This should reduce the chance for confusion between sci.med.occupational and misc.health.injuries.rsi.*.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI. Most of the traffic on this newsgroup is anticipated to be of the sufferer-to-sufferer variety.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:          Prevention through improved ergonomics.          Talk about relevant medical studies.          Diagnosis of injuries.          Treatment of injuries.          Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining         to RSI.          RSI product reviews.          Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.          Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.          I live in :                  Which local physicians specialize in RSI?                 Which local store sells ergonomic furniture?                 Can anybody recommend a good local work-comp lawyer?                 etc...  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  This newsgroup is dedicated to producing an educated consumer, the most important partner in the RSI prevention and healing process.  The FAQ orientation for this group will be posted weekly, and shall clarify much of the RSI confusion for the reader with the fewest possible keystrokes. Questions not answered by this orientation will be passed to the best RSI medical authorities available.  This group's primary mission is to prevent RSI.  Its secondary mission is to educate sufferers so that their treatment has the best chance of success.  *All medical and ergonomic information will be dispensed by the expert panel* This is a critical aspect of this format which sets it apart from current discussion groups in which personal anecdotes and friendly advice are given without regard for possible deliterious effect on others.  The expert panel's advice will never be a substitute for actual medical treatment.  Its first priority will be to get sufferers to proper medical attention forearmed with the knowledge to participate as educated partners in treatment.  Your questions, answers, and comments will be submitted to an expert panel of health care practitioners in the field of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Their reply to you will be posted in this group.  Your inquiry will not be handled if it appears that you have not read the Frequently Asked Questions orientation document below.  This FAQ has been designed to focus discussion and solve many, if not most, computer use health questions.  It has been used in such far flung places as Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  The Panel's FAQ can be found currently at:       Moderator: Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. <[email protected]> Submission address: <[email protected]> Contact address: <[email protected]>  Expert moderation panel charter members:  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator) Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D.--Ergonomics Karen L. Schneider, MBA, OTR, CHT--Clinical Occupational Therapy Garry S. Brody, M.D.--Medical Director, USC Hand Rehabilitation Center Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--Chief of Hand Surgery USC Medical Center Joan F. Wright, M.D.--Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery, RSIs John Shen, M.D.--Physical Medicine/Diagnostics Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--Spinal Disorders/Surgery Michael Patzakis, M.D.--Osteomyelitis and Joint Infections Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--Disorders/Surgery of the Knees & Shoulders   Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator)          During doctoral research in Exercise Physiology/Biomechanics at the University of Southern California, Jonathan completed groundbreaking electromyographic (EMG) research on RSIs to the forearm.  Dr. Bailin's RSI advice has been implemented globally in locations including Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.          Currently, Jonathan produces seminars, writes and speaks on ergonomic topics, consults for Los Angeles firms, and continues further RSI research at USC.  He also moderates a panel of RSI experts (see below) in a newsgroup on the USC internet called "usc.health.carpal-tunnel".  Dr. Bailin acts as Chief Consultant for Ergotech Inc. and Medical Editor for a new ergonomics newsletter called ErgoNews.  He can be reached at [email protected]   Najmedin "Naj" Meshkati, Ph.D.--ERGONOMICS  Dr. Meshkati is Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics, the Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management, and teaches at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).  Dr. Meshkati is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE # 650) and is a member of the Review Panel for the National Research Council (NRC), which is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Meshkati has consulted for such organizations as: Aerospace Corporation, ARCO, Aviotex Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orange County Transit District, Perceptronics Inc., Pneumo Abex Corporation, Rockwell International, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, United Parcel Service, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the US Navy.  He is also in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Coordinated Research Programme on Human Error Classification and Data Collection.   Karen L. Schneider, M.B.A., O.T.R., C.H.T.--OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST  Ms. Schneider, is a registered occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with 15 years of hand rehabilitation experience.  As Director and Aministrator of the Hand Rehabilitation Center at the USC University Hospital, Karen is versed on the many changes in workers' compensation laws and the health care environment.  Ms. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC.   Garry S. Brody, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Brody founded and directed the first  comprehensive hand rehabilitation center in California in the city of Downey 20 years ago.  He is past president of the American Association for Hand Surgery and is a professor of plastic surgery at USC.  As Medical Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Brody oversees the medical components of the program.  He is currently president-elect of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Dr. Brody's special interests include chronic trauma and upper extremity pain syndromes.   Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Schnall serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Surgery at Los Angeles County and USC Medical Centers.  He is a Joseph H. Boyes Hand Fellow and co-directs this program at USC which is the oldest formal fellowship for surgery of the hand in the United States.  In 1990, Dr. Schnall earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.    He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.   Joan F. Wright, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive) at USC University Medical Center with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.  She has a special interest in cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) or repetitive trauma disorders linked to repetitive activities and/or vibrating tools.  Dr. Wright is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, American College of Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.   John Shen, M.D.-MEDICAL  Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the USC University Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is the Medical Center's leading specialist in performing electromyographic and neural conduction tests for RSIs as he is Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Hume-Neal is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics at the USC University Medical Center.  She is Chief of the Orthopaedic Spine Service at the Los Angeles County and USC University Hospital Medical Centers and is Director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at the University Hospital.  She has held spinal surgery fellowships in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.  She is a Board Certified Diplomate by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Michael Patzakis, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Patzakis is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at USC's School of Medicine.  He is Chief of the Orthopaedic Infection Service with special interests in joint infections and infected non-unions at the LA County and USC Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Vangsness is Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics at the USC School of Medicine.  He performed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood, California. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Othopaedic Surgery.  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: sci.med.occupational  Sci.med.occupational is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all occupational injury issues not covered elsewhere.  Some explicit examples:          eye strain, radiation, and other VDT-related problems         various gadgets to buy/avoid         dealing with worker's compensation, and other bureaucratic nightmares         handicap access issues while often better suited to misc.handicap,                 could be quite relevant to the group.  Sci.med.occupational would NOT discuss:          sports injuries and other general injuries                 (unless related to occupational)         the use of computers in medicine         new drugs (unless helpful for those injured)         most of the randomness in sci.med  The majority of discussion will likely center around computer-specific occupational injuries, although discussion could certainly deal with other classes of occupational "blue collar" injuries.  END CHARTER.  HOW TO VOTE:  You should send E-MAIL (posts to a newsgroup are invalid) to:      [email protected]  Please do not assume that just replying to this message will work. Check the address before you mail your vote.  Your mail message should contain one and only one of the following vote statements for each group you wish to vote on:      I vote YES on misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc     I vote NO on misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc      I vote YES misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated     I vote NO misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Again, if you wish to vote on both groups, only send one mail message. You may also vote ABSTAIN or CANCEL but these are not counted as valid votes for the total count.  If your mail software does not indicate your real name, please also include the following statement and add your name (on the same line).      Voter name:  IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES:  Standard Guidelines for voting apply.  One person, one vote.  Votes must be mailed directly from the voter to the votetaker.  Anonymous, forwarded or proxy votes are not valid.  Votes mailed by WWW/HTML/CGI forms are considered to be anonymous votes.  Vote counting is automated.  Failure to follow these directions may mean that your vote does not get counted.  If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem.  It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly.  Duplicate votes are resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote.  Addresses and votes of all voters will be published in the final voting results post.  The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest of persons who would read a proposed newsgroup.  Soliciting votes from disinterested parties defeats this purpose.  Please do not distribute this CFV.  If you must, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups.  Distributing pre-marked or otherwise edited copies of this CFV is generally considered to be vote fraud. When in doubt, ask the votetaker.  DISTRIBUTION:  In addition to the groups named in the Newsgroups: header, the CFV and the eventual RESULT posts will be mailed to the mailing lists:  [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]  misc.health.injuries.rsi.* Bounce List - No need to revote --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [email protected]                              Newell, Dennis [email protected]                           Peter Collins [email protected]                       K.S. Wright (Scott) misc.health.injuries.rsi.* Mass Ack   Votes in error --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [email protected]                                               DEBORAH L. BELL    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]                                             Peter C. Oxford    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]    ! No vote statement in message  --  Jan Isley <[email protected]>    |  Running UseVote 3.0 votes to: <[email protected]>  |  Powered by FreeBSD  From [email protected] Wed Oct  4 15:24:54 1995 Path: uunet!bounce-back From: Jan Isley <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,misc.health.alternative,sci.med,sci.med.occupational Subject: RESULT: misc.health.injuries.rsi.{misc,moderated} (revote) all groups pass Followup-To: news.groups Date: 4 Oct 1995 19:24:48 -0000 Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Lines: 586 Sender: [email protected] Approved: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> References: <[email protected]><[email protected]> NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net Archive-Name: sci.med.occupational-reorg Xref: uunet news.announce.newgroups:7670 news.groups:169420 misc.health.alternative:47983 sci.med:145975 sci.med.occupational:4359                                  RESULT     unmoderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc passes 165:25    moderated group misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated passes 172:20  misc.health.injuries.rsi.* results - 202 valid votes   Yes   No : 2/3? >100? : Pass? : Group ---- ---- : ---- ----- : ----- : -------------------------------------------  165   25 :  Yes   Yes :   Yes : misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  172   20 :  Yes   Yes :   Yes : misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated    5 invalid votes  Newsgroups lines: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc	All about Repetitive Strain Injuries. misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated	Experts answer questions about RSI (Moderated).  Voting closed on 23:59:59 UTC, 3 Oct 1995.  This vote was conducted by a neutral third party.  Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent.  Proponent: Mark Bixby <[email protected]> Proponent: Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. <[email protected]> Votetaker: Jan Isley <[email protected]>  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enormous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  Misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc provides a wide-ranging unmoderated forum for the discussion of all aspects of RSIs.  The creation of this newsgroup will help to raise the profile of RSI in both the online and medical communities, hopefully leading to fewer injuries through prevention, as well as increased awareness of effective treatments.  RATIONALE: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  The misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated newsgroup will help address the epidemic of computer injuries, the most infamous of which is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).  CTS is a particularly severe example of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).  The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that over 1.89 million people in the United States alone have CTS.  Other debilitating forms of RSI are much more prevalent.  RSIs are generally progressive in nature.  They often begin with the sufferer experiencing mild pain while keyboarding which is ignored.  At the point when pain begins to effect performance, appropriate intervention and expert knowledge are critical to reducing the risk of debilitating injury or the necessity for invasive surgery with significant rehabilitation.  Unfortunately, proper diagnosis, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of RSIs is difficult to find at most primary care institutions.   This is because advances in diagnosis, treatment, and ergonomic implications of RSI injury are relatively new.  This explains the enourmous amount of traffic, frustration, and anger among readers of current RSI listserves.  The medical/ergonomic issues of RSI treatment are often complex, crossing several disciplines of the moderated group's panel members.  Proper treatment and prevention of the injury may also require resolution of legal and labor relations issues which this panel will not address at this time. These legal/labor relations experts will be added as necessary.  Time is of the essence to the ocean of RSI sufferers who's careers at a computer are threatened.  Remember, to even mildly effected RSI sufferers, every keystroke counts.  Providing instant advice by credentialed professionals, with a moderated group, is the most socially responsible response to this epidemic.  In summary, this network of keyboard users should be the first to address this endemic blight with its finest resources.  Why does RSI need a seperate moderated newsgroup?  Those who need to ask this question demonstrate a lack of appreciation for the complexity, severity, and medical urgency of the RSI epidemic.  More than an "epidemic", RSI is now *endemic*, or native, to the keyboarding population.  The proposed panel of medical experts will be performing, what is essentially "emergency duty", analogous to the preparation for medical treatment seen during triage on the M*A*S*H television show.  Statistics prove that comparison to the war conditions in this program is *not* inappropriate.  A "War on RSI" is necessary!  Medical experts should not share the stage of authoritative replies with the confusion, anger, and often medically dangerous lay advice of the RSI audience itself.  Nor should they share this stage with the plethora of uncredentialled "consultants" that currently try to make a living by commanding and crowding the bulk of bandwidth in existing listserves.  In other words, if a voice of clarity and authority *can* be raised to help stop this crippling and enormous threat brought on by our own technology, which is even accentuated by Internet use itself, it deserves an undisturbed forum.  And, yes, the necessity for moderation by definition means it *should* focus attention and choose the most important issues for medical comment.  The RSI suffering public is besieged by many distracting concerns.  Will the panel allow posts only if it agrees with the writer?  The point about whether the panel would post only "if we personally agree..." deserves comment.  Good medical care is not performed by gathered consensus of public opinion or popularity of the speaker.  In contrast, second opinions by qualified physicians concerning primary care options should always play a role in patient decisions.  And most importantly, cyberspace advice can never substitute for an experienced primary care evaluation.  Preventive medical/ergonomic advice is meant to empower the sufferer to solve their own problems in concert with qualified medical care.  These opinions may not be the only "correct" opinions, but the recipient will be confident that this information source represents some of the most qualified, credentialed, and balanced medical/ergonomic authorities available anywhere.  The principle of medical/ergonomic moderation is a critical step forward. It is far from most current listserve postings in which amateur "medical" advice by personal anecdote represents experimental samples of one.  This type of advice is not meant to be malicious but can have deleterious effects.  General discussion channels can afford to let threads wind endlessly. Current listserves provide an uncontrolled channel for misleading, wasteful, politicized, angry, and distracting dialogue which is very often irrelevent to resolution of a health issues.  This type of venting may serve a valuable role in the larger perspective, but to allow it to obfuscate medical advice serves no one.  This is not unusual as all therapeutic modalities require professional moderation and direction to focus attention on healing!  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc  misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc is an unmoderated newsgroup for the discussion of all aspects of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  RSIs have many causes, with computing equipment playing a major role.  Everybody in the online community who uses a keyboard or a pointing device is at risk for developing an RSI. Most of the traffic on this newsgroup is anticipated to be of the sufferer-to-sufferer variety.  Topics relevant for discussion include but are not limited to:          Prevention through improved ergonomics.          Talk about relevant medical studies.          Diagnosis of injuries.          Treatment of injuries.          Workmen's compensation, insurance, and other legal issues pertaining         to RSI.          RSI product reviews.          Publication of relevant RSI newsletters.          Offering support to fellow RSI sufferers.          I live in :                  Which local physicians specialize in RSI?                 Which local store sells ergonomic furniture?                 Can anybody recommend a good local work-comp lawyer?                 etc...  END CHARTER.  CHARTER: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  This newsgroup is dedicated to producing an educated consumer, the most important partner in the RSI prevention and healing process.  The FAQ orientation for this group will be posted weekly, and shall clarify much of the RSI confusion for the reader with the fewest possible keystrokes. Questions not answered by this orientation will be passed to the best RSI medical authorities available.  This group's primary mission is to prevent RSI.  Its secondary mission is to educate sufferers so that their treatment has the best chance of success.  *All medical and ergonomic information will be dispensed by the expert panel* This is a critical aspect of this format which sets it apart from current discussion groups in which personal anecdotes and friendly advice are given without regard for possible deliterious effect on others.  The expert panel's advice will never be a substitute for actual medical treatment.  Its first priority will be to get sufferers to proper medical attention forearmed with the knowledge to participate as educated partners in treatment.  Your questions, answers, and comments will be submitted to an expert panel of health care practitioners in the field of Repetitive Strain Injuries.  Their reply to you will be posted in this group.  Your inquiry will not be handled if it appears that you have not read the Frequently Asked Questions orientation document below.  This FAQ has been designed to focus discussion and solve many, if not most, computer use health questions.  It has been used in such far flung places as Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.  The Panel's FAQ can be found currently at:       Expert moderation panel charter members:  Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator) Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D.--Ergonomics Karen L. Schneider, MBA, OTR, CHT--Clinical Occupational Therapy Garry S. Brody, M.D.--Medical Director, USC Hand Rehabilitation Center Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--Chief of Hand Surgery USC Medical Center Joan F. Wright, M.D.--Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery, RSIs John Shen, M.D.--Physical Medicine/Diagnostics Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--Spinal Disorders/Surgery Michael Patzakis, M.D.--Osteomyelitis and Joint Infections Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--Disorders/Surgery of the Knees & Shoulders   Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D.--Sports Medicine & Ergonomics (Moderator)          During doctoral research in Exercise Physiology/Biomechanics at the University of Southern California, Jonathan completed groundbreaking electromyographic (EMG) research on RSIs to the forearm.  Dr. Bailin's RSI advice has been implemented globally in locations including Exxon in Malaysia, the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Dallas Community Colleges, the Belgium Journalists Bureau, North Carolina State University, and the US Food & Drug Administration.          Currently, Jonathan produces seminars, writes and speaks on ergonomic topics, consults for Los Angeles firms, and continues further RSI research at USC.  He also moderates a panel of RSI experts (see below) in a newsgroup on the USC internet called "usc.health.carpal-tunnel".  Dr. Bailin acts as Chief Consultant for Ergotech Inc. and Medical Editor for a new ergonomics newsletter called ErgoNews.  He can be reached at [email protected]   Najmedin "Naj" Meshkati, Ph.D.--ERGONOMICS  Dr. Meshkati is Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics, the Associate Executive Director for Professional Programs at the Institute of Safety and Systems Management, and teaches at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).  Dr. Meshkati is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE # 650) and is a member of the Review Panel for the National Research Council (NRC), which is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Meshkati has consulted for such organizations as: Aerospace Corporation, ARCO, Aviotex Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orange County Transit District, Perceptronics Inc., Pneumo Abex Corporation, Rockwell International, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, United Parcel Service, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the US Navy.  He is also in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Coordinated Research Programme on Human Error Classification and Data Collection.   Karen L. Schneider, M.B.A., O.T.R., C.H.T.--OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST  Ms. Schneider, is a registered occupational therapist and certified hand therapist with 15 years of hand rehabilitation experience.  As Director and Aministrator of the Hand Rehabilitation Center at the USC University Hospital, Karen is versed on the many changes in workers' compensation laws and the health care environment.  Ms. Schneider is Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC.   Garry S. Brody, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Brody founded and directed the first  comprehensive hand rehabilitation center in California in the city of Downey 20 years ago.  He is past president of the American Association for Hand Surgery and is a professor of plastic surgery at USC.  As Medical Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Brody oversees the medical components of the program.  He is currently president-elect of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Dr. Brody's special interests include chronic trauma and upper extremity pain syndromes.   Stephen B. Schnall, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Schnall serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Hand Surgery at Los Angeles County and USC Medical Centers.  He is a Joseph H. Boyes Hand Fellow and co-directs this program at USC which is the oldest formal fellowship for surgery of the hand in the United States.  In 1990, Dr. Schnall earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.    He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.   Joan F. Wright, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Wright is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive) at USC University Medical Center with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.  She has a special interest in cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) or repetitive trauma disorders linked to repetitive activities and/or vibrating tools.  Dr. Wright is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the hand, American College of Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.   John Shen, M.D.-MEDICAL  Dr. Shen is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the USC University Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is the Medical Center's leading specialist in performing electromyographic and neural conduction tests for RSIs as he is Board Certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine.   Mary Hume-Neal, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Hume-Neal is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedics at the USC University Medical Center.  She is Chief of the Orthopaedic Spine Service at the Los Angeles County and USC University Hospital Medical Centers and is Director of the Orthopaedic Spine Center at the University Hospital.  She has held spinal surgery fellowships in Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.  She is a Board Certified Diplomate by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Michael Patzakis, M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Patzakis is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at USC's School of Medicine.  He is Chief of the Orthopaedic Infection Service with special interests in joint infections and infected non-unions at the LA County and USC Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.   Thomas Vangsness, Jr., M.D.--MEDICAL  Dr. Vangsness is Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedics at the USC School of Medicine.  He performed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood, California. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Othopaedic Surgery.  END CHARTER.  MODERATOR INFO: misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated  Moderator: "Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D." <[email protected]> Administrative contact address: [email protected] Article submission address: [email protected]  END MODERATOR INFO.  misc.health.injuries.rsi.* Final Vote Ack                                      misc.health.injuries.rsi.moderated ----+                                         misc.health.injuries.rsi.misc ---+|                                                                          || [email protected]                                      Carol Waller NN [email protected]                                  Greta Schmitt YY [email protected]                                Stuart Johnson YY [email protected]                                   Barna Barath YY [email protected]                                  Alison O'Balle YY [email protected]                                 Andy Rudnitsky YY [email protected]                                 andrea backman YY [email protected]                              Carolyn Feeney YY [email protected]                                        Albert Cheng -N [email protected]                              Andrew K. Donlan YY [email protected]                                     Robert Kelly Fairbanks YY [email protected]                                             Art Hanley YY [email protected]                              Alan K. Jackson 544-4442 YY [email protected]                                           Tina M. Wood YY [email protected]                                        Allan B. Spiegel YY [email protected]                              Andrew Scott YY [email protected]                                           Andy Latto NY [email protected]                             Anne M. Federwisch, OTR YY [email protected]                                    Andrew Henson YY [email protected]                                   Stephanie da Silva YY [email protected]                                   Ken Arromdee N- [email protected]                                  Beth A Felice YY [email protected]                                Jonathan Bailin, Ph.D. YY [email protected]                                Daniel Barrett YY [email protected]                                               Bart Van Roey YY [email protected]                                            Leslie Beck YY [email protected]                                    Baruch Fischhoff YY [email protected]                                      Janet Garvin YY [email protected]                                           B.J. Herbison YY [email protected]                                         Bob Leigh YY [email protected]                                              Brus Wasson YY [email protected]                                           Bryan Cardoza YY [email protected]                                       Brynn Bollinger YY [email protected]                          Annette Burst, M.D. NY [email protected]                                            Bob Weissman YY [email protected]                                        Colin Daniel NY [email protected]                                               Larry Chop YY [email protected]                                         Chris Moore YY [email protected]                                                Chuck Fry YY [email protected]                                       Cliff Landesman YY [email protected]                        Kenneth P Crouch -- [email protected]                              Cyndi Johnson YY [email protected]                                                  YY [email protected]                                     David Hembrow YY [email protected]                                  david backman YY [email protected]                               David Bulpitt YY [email protected]                                      David desJardins -N [email protected]                                     Dorothy Robinson YY [email protected]                                            Dave Sparks YY [email protected]                                    Dan Wallach YY [email protected]                                               Pep Stores YY [email protected]                                                 Ed Haymore YY [email protected]                                       Elizabeth Poole YY [email protected]                                   Ellen Mizzell YN [email protected]                                Jonathan Epstein YY [email protected]                             Eric S. Johansson YY [email protected]                            Lee Newman (814) 865-1818 YN [email protected]                                                 Samu Mielonen -Y [email protected]                                Lyle Syverson NY [email protected]                                    Frank Hammitt YY [email protected]                                      Pat Flowers Y- [email protected]                                             Faith M. Senie YY [email protected]                                           Gail Brownlee -Y [email protected]                         Geoff Langdale YY [email protected]                                                   YY [email protected]                                   Andy Greenberg YY [email protected]                                 Jerry Halberstadt YY [email protected]                                    Shelby Harken YY [email protected]                                            Greg Hart YY [email protected]                                         Klaus YY [email protected]                                     William R. Ward YY [email protected]                                    Cori Haveson YY [email protected]                                      Harry Mueller YY [email protected]                                     Howard Andrews YY [email protected]                                 Peter Dillard, MD, MPH YY [email protected]                                         Judith Winter YY [email protected]                           Jacqui Manley YY [email protected]                       James Croop YY [email protected]                                          Jamie Blustein NY [email protected]                                Jan Coekelberghs -N [email protected]                                              Jaye YY [email protected]                             Jenae Neiderhiser YY [email protected]                             Jennifer L. O'Neal YY [email protected]                               J. 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Kalemba YY [email protected]                                     Alan D. Kalvin YY [email protected]                                    Kathleen Bennett YY [email protected]                                          Y- [email protected]                                     Kathy Noon X4628 YN [email protected]                               Kevin P. Smith YY [email protected]                                            Greg Kemp YY [email protected]                               Lynn M. Kurzava YY [email protected]                                    Victoria G. Laidler YY [email protected]                                            Lance K. Chun NY [email protected]                                                  Mama Lani YY [email protected]                                               Leigh Melton -Y [email protected]                                         les grant YY [email protected]                                     Lois Frankel YY [email protected]                                        Ling Ling Yan YY [email protected]                            Martin Schr"oder YY [email protected]                                              Lorri Bayer YY [email protected]                                               Pete Lurie YY [email protected]                                   Mike Reid YY [email protected]                                        Marcel Wilders YY [email protected]                                                Mark Bixby YY [email protected]                            Martin Bicevskis Y- [email protected]                                      Alayne McGregor YY [email protected]                                            Mark C. 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Daniels YY [email protected]                                   Mary Wise YY [email protected]                                  Michele Goze YY [email protected]                           Newell, Dennis Y- [email protected]                                       Nelson Ross YY [email protected]                                 Nick Parker YY [email protected]                             Nancy Wilson YY [email protected]                               Ollivier Robert YY [email protected]                                Jennifer O'Neal YY [email protected]                                               david parsons NY [email protected]                     Angela Rivieccio YY [email protected]                                          Patricia C. Fox YY [email protected]                                               Paul Angyal YY [email protected]                                     Patrick J. LoPresti NN [email protected]                        Peter Collins YY [email protected]                                 Kathleen A Peterson -Y [email protected]                                     Peter Zavon YY [email protected]                                    Philip Koop YY [email protected]                                           Paul A. Karger YY [email protected]                                       Patrick M. Graham YY [email protected]                                   David C. Scruggs NY [email protected]                                                          YY [email protected]                                          Pete Bastien N- [email protected]                                      Peter Zimmer YY [email protected]                                            Robert Black YY [email protected]                           Richard Collings YY [email protected]                                        Gary Richardson YY [email protected]                                     Michael J Rice YY [email protected]                              Richard Donkin YY [email protected]                                       Richard H. Miller YN [email protected]                                         Rj Sudbury YY [email protected]                                                        YN [email protected]                                   Richard Seymour YY [email protected]                                        Jonathan Sandoe YY [email protected]                                      Linda Timberlake YY [email protected]                                      Vincent DelGobbo YN [email protected]                                        Sharon Davis YY [email protected]                                             Nicole Shaw YY [email protected]                                              Gary Shea YN [email protected]                                       Michael Shields NY [email protected]                              Shrisha Rao YY [email protected]                                   Simon Crosby YY [email protected]                                   Smarasderagd NN [email protected]                                          Lucie South YY [email protected]                                         Sid Spungen -Y [email protected]                                     Susan Scallen YY [email protected]                           Lucie Lalonde YY [email protected]                                            Dwight Brown NN [email protected]                                 Steve Taylor YY [email protected]                                   Woodhall Stopford YY [email protected]                                    Stu Labovitz NY [email protected]                      Technical Intelligence-MN-USA YY [email protected]                                      Thomas G. McWilliams NN [email protected]                            TJASKIEW.US.ORACLE.COM N- [email protected]                        Todd C. Lawson NY [email protected]                                Thomas Erskine YY [email protected]                                  Tim Pierce NN [email protected]                                   Vickie M Nelson YY [email protected]                                                Rick Mills YY [email protected]                                          Joel Waterman YY [email protected]                                   Risto Widenius NN [email protected]                                           Richard Willson YY [email protected]                    K.S. Wright (Scott) YY [email protected]                                            Wayne S. Mery YY [email protected]                                    Kent Paul Dolan YY [email protected]                                    Hugh Young YY [email protected]                               Theresa A Held YY [email protected]                                              J.Noreiko YY [email protected]                                           Jiri Zlatuska YY [email protected]                                 Eddie Saunier YY   Votes in error --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [email protected]                                        Fred Crouse    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]                                               DEBORAH L. BELL    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]                                             Peter C. Oxford    ! No vote statement in message [email protected]    ! No vote statement in message