Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have been linked to many features of video display unit (VDU) operation, including duration and intensity of use.¹ Neck pain has been less studied than the shoulder and the distal hand-wrist regions; the study by Wahlström and colleagues, published in the June 2004 issue of this journal,² is a new and noteworthy exception.

Perhaps the lower level of attention to date is because neck pain is less serious and has less potential to cause disability. How long lasting and important are these symptoms? Do people recover readily, or do they progress to having more frequent and chronic pain? Do the disorders interfere with work or have other social or economic costs? And—especially important for occupational health and safety practitioners and clinicians—do the answers to these questions depend on whether the individuals are continuing to work in the same conditions under which the symptoms first developed?

A few investigations have addressed these questions. For example, among employed persons with neck pain, the proportion with lost work time is similar to those with back pain, which is notorious for high absenteeism costs.^3,4 Manufacturing workers with neck pain lost, on average, about 14 days from work in one year because …