Prevention of musculoskeletal diseases

To avoid working conditions that can cause musculoskeletal diseases several actions can be done. There are few studies evaluating the effect of intervention to reduce musculoskeletal diseases specifically among health care workers, but we may use general principles for prevention also for this kind of work. However, not all actions are relevant for health care workers, but the principles for prevention are the same for all types of occupations. The principles for control measures at work are similar for all types of risk factors. For prevention of musculoskeletal diseases, the actions can be summarized like this:

Robots in a car factory. ^{© Colourbox}

Remove the cause

It is best if you can avoid the workers having to engage in tasks that cause musculoskeletal strain. Some factories use robots and machines to avoid having workers do too much heavy lifting. The picture above illustrates such a workplace. This is not possible at most workplaces, and not among health personnel.

Good organization and design

Workplace design plays a crucial role in preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare workers.

Here are some examples of ergonomic considerations for hospital workers:

*Design of beds: A bed needs to be good, not only for the patient to rest in, but also for the nurses helping the patient. Beds need to have wheels, and they need to be adjustable to avoid unnecessary bending.

*Organization: A ward should be organized in a way that minimize excessive walking. Supplies and tools should be available in the ward, to reduce unnecessary walking. Non-slip flooring prevents slips and falls.

Find help

If you can find aid when lifting is performed, like a colleague or a technical device, it will be a great improvement. The top picture illustrates this; two nurses help each other to lift a patient in the bed. This kind of co-operation is of course also important outside the health sector, such as illustrated below from a coffee factory.

A trolley can be the help you need to move heavy sacks.
^{© G. Tjalvin}

Help can also be achieved by using patient handling equipment: Mechanical lifts exist, and if they are available, they are useful to reduce manual lifting and strain.

Teach and learn

In many work situations, workers can be taught how to carry out their duties in the most optimal manner, whether it is physical, repetitive or any other type of work. Experienced workers can help teach new ones. This is also crucially important to prevent musculoskeletal diseases. Wrong lifting technique and doing the tasks in a sub-optimal manner often leads to strain and tiredness.

Variation, variation, variation

Variation is the answer to many musculoskeletal problems and can be a solution to prevent the occurrence of this type of disease. To illustrate this, I will tell you that “The perfect chair does not exist”.

This hospital director has a chair which can be regulated up and down and the back of the chair can be moved as well.
^{© G. Tjalvin}

Many workers in sitting positions ask for the perfect chair to sit on to avoid musculoskeletal problems. Due to this, designers are constantly working on this issue. Many companies try to develop the perfect chair. The chair in the picture above can be moved up and down and has many regulation possibilities. However, there is no such thing as a perfect chair. Whatever you sit on; if you sit in the chair the whole day, in the same position, you will end up with pain somewhere; in the back, in the groin or in the neck. We need variation. If you vary your work position, the risk of developing pain in the musculoskeletal system will be reduced. People who have desk jobs should stand up, walk to a printer, move to talk to a colleague, have a meeting – anything to keep moving will help to reduce your risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal diseases at workplaces where you need to sit most of the time. Variation is important.