IE 436/536: WORK ‘-

PHYSIOLOGY
Week 2:
Musculoskeletal Injuries

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 Model for Injury Development

Personal

Physiological
Occupational ‘-
Response Micro-trauma Injury

Stress
Response Localized Muscle
Fatigue

Psychosocial

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 Risk Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Injuries
• Occupational factors associated with, and implicated as causes of, work-
related musculoskeletal disorders:
Postural stress
Forceful exertions
Repetitive exertions
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Sustained (static) exertions
Localized mechanical (contact) stresses
Vibration
Cold temperature
Psychosocial factors (e.g., stress, job control)
• Occur in work performance: "work-related factors"

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 Common Attributes for a Range of Problems
• Injuries/disorders that affect the soft tissues of the body (muscles, tendons,
nerves, ligaments)

• Disorders refers to physical ailments or abnormal conditions

• Cumulative indicates that these injuries often develop gradually over periods
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of weeks, months, or years, as a result of repeated stresses on a particular
body part

• Trauma signifies bodily injury from mechanical stresses

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 Also known as...
• cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs; US)
• repetitive strain injuries (RSIs; Great Britain)
• overuse disorders (ODs; sports medicine)
• occupational cervicobrachial disorders (OCDs; Scandinavia)
• regional musculoskeletal disorders (rheumatologists)
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• work-related disorders (World Health Organization)

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 Symptoms of WMSDs
• Pain
• Numbness
• Tingling Surgery
Lost Workday Case
• Swelling OSHA Reportable
• Redness Intensity Medical Visit
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• Discomfort of Illness Pain
Discomfort
• Waking at night to the symptoms
Sensation

Time

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Workplace Safety Index

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 Features of WMSDs
• Originate from mechanical stresses (biomechanics)
• Related to work “intensity”
• Develop over time
• Recover (typically) over time when stress is removed or reduced
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• Signs and symptoms are not localized → difficult to diagnose
• Many causal factors; difficult to control

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 WMSD Affected Body Parts
• Neck
• Back
• Shoulders
• Elbow
• Wrists
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• Fingers

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 Types of WMSDs
• Musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., tendon, low back pain)

• Nerve disorders

• Neurovascular disorders
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FINDING RELEVANT INJURY ‘-
DATA

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 Examples for Extracting Relevant Data
• Fatal Injury Data
• Non-Fatal Injury Data

• Aspects of the Data:

Recordable cases
Cases with days away from work ‘-
Incidence Rate vs. Number of Cases
Body parts affected
Nature of the injury / events or exposure
Industry vs. Occupation

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 Activity
• How many workplace fatalities occurred in 2019?
• What was the incidence rate for nonfatal injuries requiring days away from
work among warehouse workers?
• Across industries, what is the most commonly affected body part for nonfatal
injuries that require days away from work? What is the median number of
days missed? ‘-

• Data search of your choice

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IE 436/536: WORK ‘-
PHYSIOLOGY
Week 2:
Musculoskeletal Injuries

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