Hazards musculoskeletal disorders

The National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences of the United States recently concluded that there is a clear relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and work and between ergonomic interventions and a decrease in such disorders. According to the Academy, research demonstrates that specific interventions can reduce the reported rate of musculoskeletal disorders for workers who perform high-risk tasks (National Research Council 1998). The effective and universal standard for dealing with the work-related hazards should significantly reduce the risk to WRMDS to employees. 

The high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, has motivated the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to focus on standardization efforts. Recently, OSHA announced the initiation of rulemaking under Section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 655, to amend Part 1910 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations and requested information relevant to preventing, eliminating, and reducing occupational exposure to ergonomic hazards. 

Typically a doctor s description of the work that an employee can and cannot do. Specifically, per 28 CFR 1910.900, they are limitations, dnring the recovery period, on an injnred employee s exposnre to Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) hazards. 

This chapter describes proper handling of hazardous substances in the workplace and exposure to these hazardous substances. It provides some risk assessment methods for different types of preparation and handling of hazardous substances and medicines. However, other risks that are not covered by this chapter should be considered as well, in particular work stress and ergonomics which may give rise to musculoskeletal disorders. 

Government and University Research. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) offers copies of ergonomic-related studies in downloadable files. This government-agency Web site contains links to many published research articles on various aspects of ergonomics. The landmark 1997 study about musculoskeletal disorders and workplace factors is one that is available to any business or individual. Others include the research of violence in the workplace and musculoskeletal pain with regard to nursing-home workers published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This was the first study of the hazard of workplace violence as linked to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The results showed that the incidence of musculoskeletal pain increased from 40 percent in those workers that were not assaulted to 70 percent in victims of workplace violence. 

The handling of kerb stones is one of the main causes of back problems and other musculoskeletal disorders. Standard kerb stones weigh approximately 67 kg and are made of pre-cast concrete. Thus the main hazards associated with the manual handling of kerb stones are the weight of the stones, unsuitable body posture and the frequency and repetitive nature of the work. The risk, therefore, of injury to workers who lay kerb stones by hand is high and employers must address all three hazards. HSE recommends a hierarchy of control measures in their information sheet, CIS No 57, as follows ... 

The common ill-health effects of ergonomic hazards are musculoskeletal disorders (back injuries, covered in Chapter 13, and work-related upper limb disorders including repetitive strain injury being the main disorders) and deteriorating eyesight. 

ABSTRACT A proper JHA requires much more than observing a job to see if it looks hard . The purpose of this study is to break down a task into its component steps, determine the hazards associated with each step, and focus on the ergonomic connection of those hazards. In order to quantify the risks of musculoskeletal disorders, we calculated lifting tasks and compared those to minimal averages. The results indicated that multiple job tasks were in excess of the recommended weight limits for those tasks. Implementing controls is necessary for reduction of these injuries. 

Description of hazard. Ergonomics is the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the worker. Effective and successful "fits" help ensure high productivity, reduce illness and injury risks, and increase satisfaction among the workforce. Although the scope of ergonomics is much broader, the term here refers to assessing those work-related factors that may pose a risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and recommendations to alleviate them. 

Do you keep adequate records of musculoskeletal disorders and their signs, symptoms, and hazards ... 

Other task considerations dealing with the content of the task that ate related to the physical requirements include the pace or rate of work, the amount of repetition in task activities, and work pressure due to production demands. Task activities that are highly repetitive and paced by machinety rather than by the employee tend to be stressful. Such conditions also diminish an employee s attention to hazards and the capability to respond to a hazard due to boredom. These conditions may produce cumulative trauma disorders to the musculoskeletal system when the task activity cycle time is short and constant. Tasks with relatively low workload and energy expenditure can be very hazardous due to the high frequency of muscle and joint motions and boredom, which leads to employee inattention to hazards. 

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