TME, do you know what they are and how to tackle them?

This year and next due to the EU-OSHA Campaign: Healthy jobs, let's lighten the loads, we will frequently talk about the so-called musculoskeletal disorders. But do you really know what MSDs are? We are going to try to give you some light, according to EU-OSHA:

Muscle Skeletal Disorders (MSD) of occupational origin are alterations suffered by body structures such as muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves, bones and the circulatory system, caused or aggravated fundamentally by work and the effects of the environment in which it takes place.

These ailments normally affect the upper extremities, especially the neck, back, shoulders, elbows...but they can also affect the lower extremities.

Causes

Normally MSDs are due to multiple causes, they usually manifest themselves in the very long term, starting with small discomforts but which can lead to sick leave and chronic illnesses. Among the most common organizational causes we find:

• Manual handling of loads, especially when turning or bending
• Repetitive or forced movements
• Static postures
• I work at a high pace

According to some studies, having low job satisfaction, little autonomy and high demands are psychosocial factors that can lead to or aggravate MSDs.

Prevention

It is clear that these disorders depend on multiple factors, but as we always say, if we correctly evaluate jobs, carrying out a real evaluation, adjusted to the work carried out by men and women, we will begin to tackle these (and other) risks that lead to ailments for workers.

The psychosocial part associated with these ailments would be addressed as we always talk about at Vision Zero by involving employees in health and safety matters. We know that in a production line, for example, those who know the most about the risks it can generate are those who work on it every day. With a little training or the help of an expert, these workers will be able to help us in the task of tackling these risks.

Preventive actions that we can implement:

• Adapt the work to the person, ergonomically, organizationally.
• Equipment, a small investment at the beginning in ergonomic devices will save us a lot of money on sick leave.
• Tasks, organizing work in shifts, with stops, with rotations, planning work to avoid static or forced postures maintained for a long time.
• Workers, involve the worker in job improvements, provide training on risks and good work techniques. Open, effective, two-way communication.

At Fraternidad-Muprespa we make our online classroom available to our associated companies with free courses, such as the back workshop or the risk course for office or office staff. On the other hand, we always try to innovate and from a holistic point of view of prevention we recommend the healthy itinerary Walking towards well-being, where you can find healthy content, as well as videos, routines, workshops, courses, which for free will help you mitigate musculoskeletal disorders as well as promote health in a comprehensive way. Sign up!.