Musculoskeletal disorders conference - background information

This conference on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) organised by Eurofound is intended to engage the discussion on the topic and raise awareness on the issue, with selected experts, representatives from the EU and national authorities, social partners and practitioners, members of the Observatory’s network.

An important aspect of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs is the quality of jobs. Factors which contribute to the quality of jobs include high standards of working conditions and health and safety at the workplace. Poor or unsafe working conditions cost the EU economy some 3% of GNP and some 500 million working days a year.

The European Foundation Working Conditions survey and the figures of the EUROSTAT Labour Force Survey ad hoc module show that MSDs are the main occupational disease suffered by European workers: backache, muscular shoulders and neck pain, muscular upper and lower limb pain are on the increase.

MSDs affect all parts of the body, with strong interrelations between nervous and muscular systems: back, neck, shoulders, upper and lower limbs. They result from an accumulation of mechanic constraints, repetitive movements, short production cycle, heavy lifting, poorly designed work stations, extended PC work.
The upwards trends show that MSDs are no longer linked mainly to ‘traditional’ jobs in industry involving physical tasks (repetitive movements, lifting / moving people, carrying / moving heavy loads, vibrations) but are increasingly widespread in services sectors (care, hotels and restaurants) and amongst those working with PCs and ICT devices.

Eurofound with its EWCO network has launched a study on the trends in the spreading of MSDs, their economic and social impact, prevention policies and options for change; the results of this Comparative Analytical Report will be presented at our 1.5 day conference October 11-12 in Lisbon.

The study points to the strong correlation between the incidence of self-reported musculoskeletal disorders and strenuous working conditions, especially traditional physical strain factors (jobs involving tiring and painful positions, repetitive movements, and carrying heavy loads). It also appears that some organisational features such as job rotation and team working are associated with a higher incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.

The Fourth European Working Conditions Survey provides additional insight into the correlations between self-reported musculoskeletal disorders and working conditions. For example, learning opportunities (especially training provided by the employer) as well as being consulted about organisational and working conditions changes seem to be associated with lower reported musculoskeletal disorders.

In some countries, long-running prevention policies have been established at national or at establishment level, resulting in a lower incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, especially in diseases reported to social security agencies.

After the opening session, the conference will be divided in three parts: presentation of the EWCO report’s findings, the debate on room to manoeuvre and good practice examples in prevention policies; the national realities and the debate among the social partners.

The language at the conference will be English. A report will be published on the EWCO website after the meeting (www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco).