Of Australian work-related injuries, a large percentage can be categorised as musculoskeletal disorders. It’s the largest category of occupational disease and it’s the costliest, both in personal and economic terms.

Work related musculoskeletal disorders are disorders of muscles, tendons and nerves. Carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, thoracic outlet syndrome and tension neck syndrome are examples. They are generally caused by repetitive work activities which involve awkward movements or postures.

“Body stressing” injuries can be put in the same category, and are defined as being caused by muscular stress, while lifting, carrying or putting down objects; by other handling, such as pulling, pressing or throwing objects; with no objects being handled (bending twisting, reaching, turning); or by repetitive movements with low muscle loading.      

In 2004 body stressing injuries comprised 40.7% of compensated work-related injuries.

“As with most chronic diseases, MSDs have multiple risk factors, both occupational and non-occupational,” write Punnett and Wegman in ’Work-related musculoskeletal disorders’ (Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 2004).  

“In addition to work demands, other aspects of daily life, such as sports and housework, may present physical stress to the musculoskeletal tissues,” they write, continuing to say that risk varies with a wide range of factors including systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus and diabetes, age, gender, socioeconomic status and ethnicity, obesity, smoking, muscle strength and other aspects of work capacity.

Other work related musculoskeletal hazards, as listed by MacDonald and Evans in ‘Research on the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders’ are:

 

• Hazards related to the physical characteristics of task performance – particularly awkward or sustained postures, repetitive movements, static and dynamic loads or force exertions, hand-arm vibration, local tissue compression
• Excessive amounts of work, long shifts, inadequate rest breaks, long weeks, time pressures, responsibilities
• Inadequate time to cope with perceptual/cognitive task demands
• Excessive emotional demands of the work
• Inadequate workplace support: poor materials, poor supervisor support, poor social cohesion, low morale, inadequate training provisions
• Physical environmental hazards. 

While identifying hazards is important, their study showed that many Australian workplaces had insufficient methods for identifying the risks that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, and that better risk assessment (looking at the likelihood and severity of harm) as opposed to hazard identification (locating sources or situations with potential for harm) is necessary.