Reilly, P A · Journal of psychosomatic research · 1995 · DOI
In the 1980s, Australia experienced a widespread outbreak of upper limb pain that didn't fit standard medical diagnoses. The UK is now seeing a similar epidemic. This study examines whether the condition is truly caused by workplace activities or whether psychological and social factors play a larger role, similar to what happens in chronic fatigue syndrome.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it draws an explicit parallel between RSI epidemiology and chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting that medically unexplained syndromes with psychosocial components may follow similar patterns. Understanding how epidemic perception and psychosocial factors influence symptom recognition and reporting can inform research into ME/CFS epidemiology and disease attribution.
This study does not prove that RSI or chronic fatigue syndrome are purely psychological conditions, nor does it establish definitive causation. It presents a hypothesis about the role of psychosocial factors without controlled trials or biomarker data. The comparison to chronic fatigue syndrome is conceptual rather than mechanistically established.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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