Ergonomics & Musculo-Skeletal Disorders

In most industrialised countries, one of the highest risk factors to worker safety relates to poor workplace ergonomics. This then leads to a high prevalence of musculo-skeletal disorders. Over the past 15 years working in the area of workplace rehabilitation and return to work a large percentage of the injured workers I have assisted to return to work have experienced such injuries and finding resources to support the need to improve workplace ergonomics has often been difficult. However, while surfing the web for useful resources I came across the below link to the "Centers for Disease Control & Prevention".

The site has a lot of great resources including:

  • A searchable bibliographic database of various OHS publications
  • Links to long term epidemiological studies of workplace musculoskeletal disorders
  • Ergonomic resources based on industry (e.g.: Construction, Agriculture, Healthcare, etc)

Thus, if you have some time I would recommend looking at this site and although every country has different legislative requirements for OHS/WHS, reviewing these resources may help to implement new strategies to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in your workplace.

Ergonomic Resources - Centers for Disease Control & Prevention