RSI figures may have been 'substantially overestimated'

The study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine questioned the reliability of Labour Force Surveys - the source of RSI and other occupational health statistics used by governments across Europe.

In such surveys people are asked if their condition is work-related. However, researchers claimed their study found that this could lead to around three times as many cases being reported than were likely to be the case.

They concluded that their study cast doubt on the "validity of a major source of information used by European Governments to evaluate their occupational health strategies."

According to Labour Force Survey figures there are currently over 2 million people in the United Kingdom whose ill health is job-related.