Musculo-Skeletal Disorders Article by Davina Bavaresco, Tree Mettle Nexus

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Great Britain, affecting 1.0 million people a year. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts.

The arboriculture and forestry industry are not immune from this problem. Over 20% of injuries are MSD related. Always follow best practice when manual handling (see HSE leaflet INDG145 Watch your back).

Tree climbing, chainsaw use, timber handling and equipment handling, are all physically demanding but essential tasks. Specifically, tree climbing, work from MEWPs and chainsaw use, focus highly biased forces to specific areas of the body through repetitive motions; over time, such tasks can easily lead to muscular/skeletal dysfunction for the majority of operators. Often, the early symptoms of MSDs (e.g. poor posture, muscular tightness, joint stiffness, persistent twinges and a restricted range of movement) are ignored as part of the job. It is when such symptoms are ignored into months and years, that debilitating pain, incapacity and surgery become prevalent.

To avoid these risks, their serious consequences to general well being and the implied costs, all involved in tree work need to understand the fundamentals of good movement and posture, and adopt the following:

1. Identify the physical constraints of specific tasks, and ensure operators are physically suited to them.
2. Identify and implement at the start of each day, the most efficient and safe dynamic warm-up exercises, of relevance to specific tasks.
3. Identify and implement the most ergonomically efficient, prascticable and safe equipment to undertake specific tasks.
4. Identify and implement the most ergonomically efficient, practicable and safe techniques to undertake specific tasks.
5. Rotate different types of task between all of the team throughout the day.
6. Identify and implement at the end of each day, the most efficient and safe flexibility and correction exercises, to balance the muscular and skeletal system.

The greatest mitigating factors to the accurate identification and effective control of MSD risks, relating to the specific systems and procedures within different companies are:

1. The general lack of industry and in-house expertise in health and fitness, to recognise physical constraints and the suitability of operators.
2. The general lack of awareness of industry specific tasks and their associated risks, amongst fitness and medical professionals.
3. The general lack of understanding, awareness or uptake of correct ergonomic systems and procedures, within the standard industry training & education system.

The Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG) has recognised the seriousness of the problem and has set up a Project Group to identify the prevalence and causes of musculoskeletal disorders and develop strategies for risk reduction.

Extensive general guidance/information is contained on HSE's MSD Website.

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