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Musculoskeletal disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include injuries and conditions that can affect the back, joints and limbs, which can reduce a person’s quality of life. You can develop a musculoskeletal disorder or it can be made worse through work.
HSE statistics show that in 2021/22, 477,000 workers suffered from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This accounts for 7.3 million working days lost due to work-related MSDs. Do the right thing and protect your employees from work-related MSDs.
Managing the risks
Employers must manage the risk of MSDs in the workplace. Tasks which have a high risk of causing MSDs include manual handling, repetitive work, awkward postures and exposure to vibration. There are also risks associated with use of display screen equipment such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
Find out what you can do to tackle the risks of MSDs: Musculoskeletal disorders – HSE.
MSDs design Award
If you are an employer in the UK, and you’ve used a design solution to reduce musculoskeletal risks, nominate your design change for the ‘Risk-reduction through design award’.
This award inspires employers to think about how changes to work can reduce the risks of harm to people. It is sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) and you can get further information and case studies of previous award winners here.
Further information and guidance on musculoskeletal disorders
Knowing what guidance to follow isn’t always straightforward. The MSD signposting chart can help you choose what is best for your business.
The new musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) tool is an all-in-one digital solution for the well renowned MAC tool and can be used to assess the risks posed by lifting, carrying and team manual handling activities. Designed to simplify the process of completing each risk assessment, with a logical step by step approach, it will save your assessors time in populating and interpreting the results manually. For further details of the MSD tool visit NEW MSD Online Assessment Tool / Manual Handling Assessment Tool
Further guidance on how to reduce the risks of MSDs in the workplace can be found here: Resources (hse.gov.uk)
Musculoskeletal Disorders – Email Newsletter
Keep up to date on the latest information, training offers and new technologies that HSE has developed to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders with our email eBulletin. Sign up here: HSE eBulletins.