I'm in the middle of a dispute with my work place about my carpal tunnel syndrome. I maintain that constant hours of typing and filing have resulted in this problem. They say there isn't enough evidence to support a work-related cause for CTS. Who's right?

Requiring scientific evidence to support work-related health claims has become a central issue in the last few years. As a result, more and more studies are underway evaluating the cause of conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

According to a recent investigation, genetic factors ranked the highest as possible links to CTS. The anatomic structure of the wrist and increased body mass index (BMI) are the strongest risk factors.

There isn't enough evidence to link CTS with occupational factors such as repetitive hand use, exposure to vibration, and activities requiring high-force grip. Hand position and stressful manual work have also been investigated with similar results.

At this point in time, all evidence points to CTS as a structural, genetic, biologic problem. Environmental and occupational factors play only a minor role in this condition. Typing and computer use have not been directly linked with CTS.