The National Academy of Sciences study found that musculoskeletal disorders of the back and arm are an important national health problem with over 1,000,000 workers missing time from their job each year, at a cost of over $50 billion a year. When one takes indirect costs such as reduced productivity, loss of customers due to errors made by replacement workers and regulatory compliance into account, estimates place the total yearly cost of all workplace injuries at well over $1 trillion or 10% of United States Gross Domestic Product. Debates regarding causation and subsequent financial responsibility have delayed the opportunity to provide effective prevention in the workplace. Effective prevention of workplace illnesses (musculoskeletal disorders) through active intervention is not only possible, but results in significant costs savings for the employer while reducing the disability experienced by the individual employee.

Successful management of occupational musculoskeletal problems goes beyond the traditional medical dimension. Despite the continuing debate on causation, current medical and epidemiological literature support a relationship between activities and musculoskeletal pain. Reasonable management decisions can be made based on individual and job risk provided by assessment instruments. Financial and legislative initiatives will mandate prevention from a public health. Prevention by risk assessment currently provides another opportunity for reduction of the incidence and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders by allowing engineering controls to be applied in a prioritized approach, resulting in real solutions for the problems facing the American worker.

Successful management of musculoskeletal disorders. J Hum Ecolog Risk Assessment 7:1801-1810, 2001. Melhorn JM, Wilkinson LK, O'Malley MD. Reference ID: 4076