Work-related musculoskeletal disorders affecting members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy☆
Section snippets
Background
Musculoskeletal disorders have been described as ‘the most notorious and common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability, affecting hundreds of millions of people across the world’ [1]. In Europe, one-quarter of adults are affected by longstanding musculoskeletal problems that limit everyday activities.
It is in this context that musculoskeletal disorders are considered to be one of the biggest health problems facing contemporary workforces [2], despite decades of ergonomic
Sampling
A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected 10% sample (n = 3661) of CSP members. These included qualified physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants and physiotherapy students on clinical placement. It had been intended to stratify the sample according to data held on the CSP's membership database. However, information on potential stratification categories was found to be out of date and incomplete. The size of the random sample was thought to militate against sample
Results
Three thousand, six hundred and sixty-one questionnaires were distributed in June 2003 and 2688 valid responses were returned (response rate 73.4%). Fifty-three questionnaires were returned uncompleted (i.e. left completely blank) and a further 21 letters were received explaining non-response (recipient had moved address, gone travelling or had died). The gender breakdown of respondents, 89% female (n = 2318) and 11% male (n = 275), closely reflects the paid-up associate, qualified and student
Risk assessment
All respondents were asked whether they had had a risk assessment conducted in their current post. Fifty-six percent (n = 1385) of those who answered the question (n = 2468) had had a risk assessment in their current post, with 30% experiencing regular, annual risk assessments. Forty-four percent of respondents had not had a risk assessment in their current post. Of respondents who reported having a risk assessment, 74% said that changes were made afterwards to reduce risks, with 79% stating that
Job risk factors
Injured respondents were asked to consider 18 job risk factors and to indicate, in their view, the extent to which each was implicated in the development of their musculoskeletal disorder. The job risk factors were based on the 17 factors used by Bork et al. [4] with the addition of ‘lack of staff’ (Table 7).
‘Performing the same task over and over’ was the job risk factor that injured respondents implicated most in the development of their work-related musculoskeletal disorder. By contrast, the
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to establish baseline data on work-related musculoskeletal problems experienced by CSP members: physiotherapists, assistants and students. The study was conducted in response to members’ concerns over work-related musculoskeletal disorders and took place on a random sample of 3661 CSP members. The response rate was 74% (n = 2688), comparing favourably with other studies on physiotherapists that achieved response rates of between 53% and 80% [4], [6], [7], [8], [16],
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend sincere thanks to Dr Jean Cromie, School of Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia and Diane West, Consultant Ergonomist, New South Wales, Australia for their kind permission to replicate elements of their research in this study. We also thank Dr Sue Hignett, Lecturer in Ergonomics, Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, UK and Dr Amanda E. Young, Researcher, Center for Disability Research, Liberty Mutual Research
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Cited by (0)
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The headline results of this study have been presented at the following:
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a fringe meeting at the CSP's Annual Representative Conference in Newcastle, UK on 12 May 2004;
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the conference of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Occupational Health and Ergonomics in Edinburgh, UK on 13 May 2004;
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the Fifth International Scientific Conference on the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Zurich, Switzerland, 11–15 July 2004;
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the National Back Exchange Conference, Hinckley, UK, 21 September 2004 and;
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the CSP Congress, Birmingham, UK, 8–10 October 2004.
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