Monday, March 17, 2008 - 18:00h

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders

Good design of the workplace is essential
Overloading of the musculoskeletal system generates 37.1% of the total of work-related accidents in Catalonia

The Ministry of Employment has launched a campaign to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders. These disorders constitute 37.1% of the total number of work-related accidents in Catalonia and are usually the result of jobs which involve repetitive movements such as office work in front of a computer or cashier jobs. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders resulted in the loss of 940,000 working days in 2007 and a wage bill of 72 million euros.

In order to avoid this type of disorder, some good practices are recommended such as taking regular breaks, working in well-designed work areas, being aware of the correct postures when manipulating heavy objects, making use of lifting machines or carts and using the correct protection devices.

The Ministry's campaign will consist in the broadcast of information capsules on television, the publication of adverts in the press and the publishing of informative leaflets. These will be published in Catalan, Spanish, English, Rumanian, Arabic and Chinese.

 Information leaflet on work-related musculoskeletal disorders (3,7MB)