MSDs are caused mainly by manual handling, frequent bending and twisting, heavy physical work and whole-body vibration. The risk of MSDs can increase with the pace of work, low job satisfaction, high job demands and job stress. There is also a strong interrelation between nervous and muscular systems: MSDs affect other aspects of workers’ health, and other health conditions can trigger MSDs. MSDs are the biggest cause of absence from work in practically all Member States. In some states, 40% of the costs of workers’ compensation are caused by MSDs, and up to 1.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country itself. They reduce company profitability and add to the social costs of the government.

Many problems can be prevented or greatly reduced through employers complying with existing safety and health law and following good practice. However, there are specific actions that have to be taken if MSDs are to be tackled effectively.

Lighten the load, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work's 2007 campaign to tackle MSDs in the workplace, supports an integrated management approach with three key elements. First, employers, employees and government need to work together to tackle MSDs. Secondly, any actions should address the ‘whole load on the body’, which covers all the stresses and strains being placed on the body, environmental factors such as cold working conditions, and the load being carried. Thirdly, employers need to manage the retention, rehabilitation and return to work of employees with MSDs.

Announcing the launch of Lighten the load in Brussels EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimír Špidla said: ‘Tackling MSDs is a priority for the EU if we are to create more and better jobs in Europe. Given the demographic change, people will probably have to work longer and this makes it even more imperative that we tackle this problem now. It is essential if European workers are to enjoy not only better quality jobs but a better quality of life and a higher standard of living. We can increase productivity and therefore prosperity in the EU if we manage to improve the situation of days lost to MSDs'.

The price of MSDs to workers, employers and governments is huge. For the employee, they cause personal suffering and loss of income; for the employer, they reduce business efficiency; and for the government, they increase social security costs.

‘There is a strong correlation between workers’ health, wellbeing and quality of work on the one hand, and economic prosperity,’ says Jukka Takala, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. ‘Although weekly working hours are decreasing, the pace of work is increasing.

Painful or tiring positions, working at very high speeds and to tight deadlines and the increasing use of machinery and computers result in high levels of work-related MSDs and stress. For these reasons, there is a need to implement prevention strategies and programmes to combat staff health problems.
These strategies must place the worker at the centre of organisational changes and redesign of the workplace.

Lighten the load culminates with the European Week for Safety and Health at Work from 22 to 26 October 2007, with a range of activities and events across Europe.

The campaign also features the Good Practice Awards which recognise organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to tackle MSDs. The Agency will announce the winners at the campaign's closing event in March 2008.

Campaign Materials available here to download

Source: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work