Musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is an umbrella term for dozens of medical conditions related among other causes to poor work postures, excessive strain, repetitive movements, handling of heavy loads, use of vibrating tools or work in cold.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is an umbrella term for dozens of medical conditions related among other causes to poor work postures, excessive strain, repetitive movements, handling of heavy loads, use of vibrating tools or work in cold.

MSDs affect all joints of the body, notably the upper limbs (shoulder, elbow, wrist, finger), lower limbs (knee, ankle, foot) and the spine, causing pain and discomfort in daily movements which can be seriously debilitating, even preventing sufferers from performing a movement that may cost them their job.

The most common work-related MSD is carpal tunnel syndrome, a compression of the median nerve at the base of the palm. It causes tingling and numbness of the hand and fingers, severe pain and may require surgery to regain use of the hand.

MSDs are often associated with activities found in agriculture and industry (packaging, assembly, installation): food processing, clothing manufacture, footwear, manufacture of electrical and electronic products, carmaking - all industries where repetitive manual work is particularly prevalent. But the problem has also appeared in other hitherto relatively unaffected areas like service jobs and office work.

As well as physical stresses, psychosocial factors and work organization also play a role in the development of MSDs. The work environment and quality of relations with co-workers and superiors, working hours, insufficient breaks, so-called “lean” production methods, “quality standards”, work equipment unsuited to users are just some of the things that contribute to the development of MSDs in workers.

• MSDs in Europe - definitions and statistics (pdf - 123.22 Kb)

Along with mental disorders and cardiovascular disease, MSDs are a major cause of early withdrawal from the labour force. According to Eurostat, 40% of recognized occupational diseases in the EU are related to MSDs. They are the leading cause of time off work (50% of all absences of more than three days) and permanent incapacity for work (60%).

Most of the painful attacks due to MSDs last up to a fortnight and 20 to 40% of workers affected will experience new painful spells within the year, rising to 85% over a lifetime.

While 90% of workers return to work within two months, less than 50% of those who have not gone back to work after six months will ever do so. This means a significant loss of income which can tip the worker and his family into poverty. Social and family lives are disrupted (inability to cope alone, inability to care for one’s family, forced to give up some leisure activities, etc.), which tends to pile psychological distress onto sufferers’ physical pain.

These personal tragedies have big implications for society. There are no exact figures on the cost of MSDs to European business and society, but some Member States (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and Denmark) have estimated it at between 0.5 and 2% of GDP.

Articles published in HesaMag and Hesa Newsletter:

• Risk factors of occupational MSDs and potential solutions: past, present and future (pdf - 361.33 Kb)
• MSDs: action-oriented research helps unions to break the silence (pdf - 124.13 Kb)
• MSDs in the cleaning industry: interview with Yves Roquelaure (university of Angers) (pdf - 91.56 Kb)

The Community’s duty to protect workers from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is currently discharged through various general requirements under the 1989 Framework Directive on the health and safety of workers and a series of individual directives (on the workplace, work equipment, manual handling of loads, work with visual display screens and vibration).

The trade union movement believes that existing EU legislation is insufficient to deal with the steadily spreading MSD pandemic. For more than ten years the ETUC has been calling for a general “anti-MSDs” directive that would cover all risk factors including non-biomechanical ones like work organization, psychosocial factors, etc. The union demands are opposed by the European employers. After years of drawn-out debates and two social partner consultations, the Commission finally tabled a draft directive in January 2010. In early 2013, the European Commission gave in to business organization lobbying and dropped the idea of a directive in favour of a simple non-binding recommendation.

Past ETUC responses to consultations:

• 1st stage (pdf - 189.55 Kb)
• 2nd stage (pdf - 122.54 Kb)