Community news|06/05/20

Why are MSDs still so prevalent in Europe?

Home > The news of EUROGIP and occupational risks in Europe > Why are MSDs still so prevalent in Europe?

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain the most common work-related health problem in the EU. EU-OSHA is publishing an analysis of existing studies which aims to elucidate the reasons for this.

The authors identify 12 general hypotheses such as the impact of digitalisation, new forms of employment, the gap between risk assessment and preventive measures, age, gender…

This exploratory review has identified a clear need to do the following:

  • Identify and understand differences between countries and find out what is effective to reduce the prevalence of MSDs and what doesn’t work.
  • Adapt risk assessment tools and risk reduction measures to be able to assess both MSDs and psychosocial risks in one assessment.
  • Increase awareness and understanding of the work relevance of MSDs and their identification, prognosis and prevention in the workforce.
  • Ensure that workplace health promotion activities focus on MSD prevention as well as health behaviours that affect MSDs.
  • Identify current practices to improve the prevention of the impact on MSD caused by the digital integration of an individual’s work-life commitments and platform working.
  • Update legislation to cover new technologies, including examining the implementation of the existing legislation to determine: Does the legislation cover the correct risks? Are employers adequately assessing these risks? Are employers implementing appropriate controls?

It is worth recalling that the Healthy Workplaces 2020-22 campaign, EU-OSHA’s flagship awareness-raising activity, focuses on the prevention of work-related MSDs.

Report
Summary

Discover other news

Abroad

07/03/25

FINLAND: rise in workplace accidents in 2024

In 2024, the number of occupational accidents (OI) in Finland reached 115,000 cases among employees, including 24,000 commuting accidents. Compared with the previous year, this represents a 4% increase in occupational accidents and a 10% rise in commuting accidents. The frequency rate of occupational accidents also increased, reaching 25.4 cases per million hours worked, compared with 24.6 in 2023.

News

07/03/25

Working conditions report in 2023: EUROGIP’s contribution

Alongside the social partners and prevention organizations, EUROGIP features in the Report of working conditions in 2023, recently published by the French Ministry of Labor. Dedicated to the actions of those involved in occupational risk prevention, this document presents trends in occupational accident rates, as well as the progress made by prevention policies and measures.