Work-related musculoskeletal disorder and its costs: a short review

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorder can result from extreme physical demands at work. It has risen, mainly due to high muscle demands and static postures and generates a significant economic burden to the companies. This short review aims to point out the statistics of the most affected body parts by work-related musculoskeletal disorders, assess absenteeism and presenteeism costs, and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. Methodology: According to the PRISMA Statement, the search was performed in 5 electronic databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Pubmed). Articles selection was made by the title and abstract analysis, especially those aiming to explain and validate the subject. If the abstract fulfils the objective, the articles were read, and studies were considered that met the defined eligibility criteria. Were chosen articles that realised measurements or considered interventions in healthy human beings, especially in the working population, dated from 2015 to 2020. Results and Discussion: The scrutinised articles were conclusive that the most affected part of the body are the upper limbs, the neck and the upper back. The statistics of the affected workers varied according to the country and analysed tasks, but they converge concerning the most affected body parts. It could be noted that women are more affected by musculoskeletal disorders than men, especially older women; the reason, however, is not clearly explained. Muscle injury can lead high economic burden, mostly due to absenteeism and presenteeism. It was noted that the expenditure due to presenteeism is higher comparing to absenteeism in both developed and emergent countries. Conclusions: Due to high costs, companies are deploying strategies to improve work conditions and aware the workers about health and safety. Interventions have shown to be effective in reducing the risk of injuries. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders can be extremely damaging to the workers’ health and are costly to the companies. Support supervisor interventions effectively improve work conditions and reduce the risk of damaging outcomes, increasing workers’ health, work ability, and, consequently, productivity.