Answer: MSD is a broad umbrella label for many types of aches and pains, and treatment is determined by the exact medical diagnosis. They fall largely into three types:
Most cases can be satisfactorily dealt with by your Doctor/GP. There are other alternative methods of treatment – such as through physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths – that can be helpful in the assessment and treatment of these disorders.
They are not always caused by work but they are often aggravated by the work we do; where this is the case there is a requirement for an employer to assess the cause and take remedial action.
Answer: Risk factors causing MSDs can be found in virtually every workplace, from sectors such as waste and recycling, public administration, finance, Agriculture, Health Services, Construction and Haulage.
Check the HSE website - Statistics
Answer: MSDs are only reportable if they lead to a major injury or result in absence lasting more than 3 working days and they should be reported as such in the normal way
Check the HSE website - RIDDOR
Answer: There are a variety of precautionary measures an employer can take to reduce the risk of MSDs. The appropriate control measures can depend upon the sort of work your employees do and what is 'reasonably practicable'. The first step is to assess all of the MSD risks that the tasks generate. Next, try to eliminate as many of them as possible by redesigning the tasks, providing mechanical aids, introducing breaks or job rotation. When considering the risks, potential precautionary measures and solutions, ensure you consult your workforce as they often have first hand knowledge of the risks associated with specific tasks. Once the precautionary measures have been introduced, you should monitor their effectiveness and ensure these measures have not introduced new risks. HSE has produced a number of publications that provide potential solutions that may help with your choice of precautionary measure, some of which are industry-specific.
Check the HSE website - MSD Guidance
Answer: A risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people in the workplace. Doing a risk assessment will help employers identify and target any significant risks in their workplace. A good risk assessment will help avoid accidents and ill health, which not only ruin lives but can also increase costs to business through lost output, compensation claims and higher insurance premiums.
Check the HSE website - Risk
Answer: When you implement control measures to reduce the risk of MSDs, it can often take some time for the changes to take effect and for the employee to notice symptoms have subsided. Monitoring the effects of control measures is therefore very important. Working with the employee to identify the aspects of the job which cause or aggravate their complaints allows the condition to be managed. Gathering information about symptoms over a period of time may help to identify whether the situation is improving or deteriorating. Questionnaires using body maps can also be used to track how the region of discomfort varies and the intensity of pain changes. Also information about their non-work activities, such as sports, hobbies or domestic activities may contain similar risks to those found in the workplace and, unless these are also controlled, the problem could persist.
Answer: It is necessary to ensure that any workstation you use is not likely to cause you any health risk .In view of this; you should assess the risks for workstations that are occupied at irregular intervals through flexible working practices such as hot-desking. There are basic criteria you should always check when working with VDU's (please see below). It may be useful, if hot-desking is widespread within your organisation, to provide a checklist of what people should assess. This could be attached to the desk or workstation.
Check the HSE website - Working with VDU's
Answer: There is no legal requirement for any particular desk size but, to reduce risks, work surfaces need to be large enough to allow the user to find a comfortable working position.
Answer: Reporting accidents and ill health is a legal requirement. The HSE's RIDDOR website provides more information. Workers should be encouraged to report injuries. An accurate record of accidents and ill health enables an analysis to be undertaken and preventive measures put in place.
If you are a member of a Union it may also help to speak to your Union Safety Rep.
Answer: Although training can be important in raising awareness and reducing risk, it should not be assumed that the training alone will ensure safe manual handling. It should be supplemented with monitoring and reviews of procedures to ensure both that the training is understood and being applied. The need to report problems, whether they are unsafe working conditions or accidents, will need to be reinforced by good supervision. An employer has a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to ensure that employees are provided with health and safety information and training.
Further details can be found in the current Manual Handling guidance ( L23 ISBN 0 7176 2823) – available from HSE Books. HSE does not advocate any particular company or training, in relation to H&S training. There is no accreditation scheme.
Answer: Employers do have duties set out in the Manual Handling Operations Regulations and the Display Screen Equipment Regulations. Employers also have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act to protect the health of their workers.
Recent research has identified six key areas which were needed for an intervention to be successful, the main principals for dealing with MSDs at work are:
The guidance and advice we offer is deliberately not prescriptive, it offers employers and workers the opportunity to adopt an approach that suits the risks facing them in their workplace. The links below will take you to sources of additional advice. The case studies explain how others have tackled their issues and these may give you ideas for solutions that will work for your organisation. Whatever steps you take and solutions you put in place, you should review and monitor them, to make sure they are working for your organisation and changed where necessary
