| 1. |
- Jonker, D., et al.
(författare)
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Health surveillance under adverse ergonomics conditions – validity of a screening method adapted for the occupational health service
- 2015
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Ingår i: Ergonomics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0014-0139 .- 1366-5847. ; 58:9, s. 1519-1528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new health surveillance protocol for work-related upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders has been validated by comparing the results with a reference protocol. The studied protocol, Health Surveillance in Adverse Ergonomics Conditions (HECO), is a new version of the reference protocol modified for application in the Occupational Health Service (OHS). The HECO protocol contains both a screening part and a diagnosing part. Sixty-three employees were examined. The screening in HECO did not miss any diagnosis found when using the reference protocol, but in comparison to the reference protocol considerable time savings could be achieved. Fair to good agreement between the protocols was obtained for one or more diagnoses in neck/shoulders (86%, k=0.62) and elbow/hands (84%, k=0.49). Therefore, the results obtained using the HECO protocol can be compared with a reference material collected with the reference protocol, and thus provide information of the magnitude of disorders in an examined work group. Practitioner Summary: The HECO protocol is a relatively simple physical examination protocol for identification of musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and upper extremities. The protocol is a reliable and cost-effective tool for the OHS to use for occupational health surveillance in order to detect workplaces at high risk for developing musculoskeletal disorders. © 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.
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| 2. |
- Dahlqvist, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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Comparing two methods to record maximal voluntary contractions and different electrode positions in recordings of forearm extensor muscle activity : refining risk assessments for work-related wrist disorders
- 2018
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Ingår i: Work. - : IOS Press. - 1051-9815. ; 59:2, s. 231-242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Wrist disorders are common in force demanding industrial repetitive work. Visual assessment of force demands have a low reliability, instead surface electromyography (EMG) may be used as part of a risk assessment for work-related wrist disorders. For normalization of EMG recordings, a power grip (hand grip) is often used as maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the forearm extensor muscles. However, the test-retest reproducibility is poor and EMG amplitudes exceeding 100% have occasionally been recorded during work. An alternative MVC is resisted wrist extension, which may be more reliable.Objective: To compare hand grip and resisted wrist extension MVCs, in terms of amplitude and reproducibility, and to examine the effect of electrode positioning.Methods: Twelve subjects participated. EMG from right forearm extensors, from four electrode pairs, was recorded during MVCs, on three separate occasions.Results: The group mean EMG amplitudes for resisted wrist extension were 1.2-1.7 times greater than those for hand grip. Resisted wrist extension showed better reproducibility than hand grip.Conclusions: The results indicate that the use of resisted wrist extension is a more accurate measurement of maximal effort of wrist extensor contractions than using hand grip and should increase the precision in EMG recordings from forearm extensor muscles, which in turn will increase the quality of risk assessments that are based on these.
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| 3. |
- Antonson, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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The clinical consequence of using less than four sensory perception examination methods in the Swedish surveillance system for Hand-Arm vibration syndrome
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Occupational Health. - : Wiley. - 1348-9585 .- 1341-9145. ; 64:1, s. 12343-12343
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The Swedish surveillance system aiming to reveal undetected Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) in workers exposed for vibrations is regulated by the provision AFS 2019:3. The goal for the surveillance system is to diagnose HAVS, as well as to find workers at risk for developing HAVS due to other conditions. The national guidelines stipulate examination using at least two out of four hand sensory examination methods (SEM); monofilament (touch), two-point discrimination (discriminative), tuning fork (vibrotactile), and Rolltemp (thermotactile). The aim of this study was to examine the clinical consequence of using less than four of these SEMs. METHODS: We collected data on SEMs from the medical records of all individuals that went through the specific surveillance medical check-up in a large occupational health service for 1 year. We then calculated the number of workers found with HAVS when using one, two, or three SEMs, and compared with the result from using all available SEMs. RESULTS: Out of 677 examined individuals, 199 had positive findings in at least one SEM. The detection rate for these findings was on average 47% when using one SEM, 71% using two SEMs, and 88% using three SEMs (out of 100% detection when all four SEMs were used). CONCLUSIONS: If fewer than four sensory examination methods are used for surveillance of HAVS, many workers with incipient injuries may stay undetected. This may lead to further exposure resulting in aggravation of injury.
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| 4. |
- Arvidsson, Inger, et al.
(författare)
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Action Levels for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Neck and Upper Extremities : A Proposal
- 2021
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Ingår i: Annals of Work Exposures and Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2398-7308 .- 2398-7316. ; 65:7, s. 741-747
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are several well-known risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Despite this knowledge, too many people still work in harmful conditions. The absence of occupational exposure limits (OELs) for physical workload impedes both supervision and preventive work. To prevent myalgia, tendon disorders, and nerve entrapments in the upper musculoskeletal system, we propose action levels concerning work postures, movement velocities and muscular loads recorded by wearable equipment. As an example, we propose that wrist velocity should not exceed 20°/s as a median over a working day. This has the potential to reduce the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in highly exposed male occupational groups by 93%. By reducing upper arm velocity in highly exposed female groups to the suggested action level 60°/s, the prevalence of pronounced neck/shoulder myalgia with clinical findings (tension neck syndrome) could be reduced by 22%. Furthermore, we propose several other action levels for the physical workload. Our ambition is to start a discussion concerning limits for physical workload, with the long-term goal that OELs shall be introduced in legislation. Obviously, the specific values of the proposed action levels can, and should, be discussed. We hope that quantitative measurements, combined with action levels, will become an integral part of systematic occupational health efforts, enabling reduction and prevention of work-related MSDs.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Arvidsson, Inger, et al.
(författare)
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Cross-sectional associations between occupational factors and musculoskeletal pain in women teachers, nurses and sonographers.
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2474. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is usually assumed that musculoskeletal pain is associated with both the physical workload and the psychosocial work environment, as well as with personal and lifestyle factors. This study aims to ascertain the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in women with varying or different occupational exposures, and to explore the associations between musculoskeletal pain and the occupational and personal factors.
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| 7. |
- Arvidsson, Inger, et al.
(författare)
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Discrepancies in pain presentation caused by adverse psychosocial conditions as compared to pain due to high physical workload?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation. - 1875-9270. ; 41, s. 2472-2475
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disorders in the musculoskeletal system have been associated with a high physical workload as well as psychosocial and individual factors. It is however not obvious which of these factors that is most important to prevent. Musculoskeletal disorders in neck and upper extremity was assessed by interview and clinical examination in 79 teachers and 93 assisting nurses, all females. Psychosocial work environment was assessed by questionnaire. The physical workload was recorded by technical measurements of postures, movements and muscular load, in 9 teachers and 12 nurses. The physical workload was lower among the teachers, but they had a more demanding psychosocial work environment. Among the nurses, but not in the teachers, the neck-shoulder disorders were associated with a high body mass index (BMI). The teachers reported neck-shoulder complaints to a higher extent than the nurses, but had much lower prevalence of diagnoses in the clinical examination (12% vs. 25%; POR 0.3 CI 0.1 - 1.2; adjusted for age and BMI). The results suggest that adverse psychosocial conditions among the teachers give rise to a different kind of pain in the neck-shoulder region than from physical overload, troublesome but not as severe as the one afflicting the nurses.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Arvidsson, Inger, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of occupational and personal factors on musculoskeletal pain - A cohort study of female nurses, sonographers and teachers
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2474. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Musculoskeletal pain is common in the general population and constitutes a major public health problem. A large proportion of these conditions may be work related. The aim of this study was to explore the relative importance of physical, psychosocial and personal factors, in number of pain sites and in five specific pain sites, among women in common professions with a broad variety of occupational exposures. Methods: A cohort of 1115 women responded to a questionnaire on ergonomic, psychosocial, personal and life-style factors, and the outcome measure of musculoskeletal pain (based on frequency and intensity of complaints at nine anatomical sites), at baseline and at follow-up. Sum scores of ergonomic and psychosocial factors were created. The importance of exposure at baseline for the number of pain sites at follow-up were estimated using ordinal regression. The importance of exposure at baseline for pain in the neck, shoulders, hands, lower back and feet at follow-up were estimated using multi-exposure Poisson regression models. Results: High sum scores for ergonomic and psychosocial factors were of importance for a high number of pain sites, although the strongest risk factor was a high number of pain sites already at baseline. On the individual level, there was a large fluctuation in number of pain sites between the two time points. Eighteen percent reported persistent (or recurrent) ≥ four pain sites, while only 11 % did not report any pain at baseline or at follow-up. Among the specific pain sites, a high sum score of ergonomic factors was associated with pain in the neck, hands and feet. A high sum score of psychosocial factors was associated with neck and shoulder pain. The strongest risk factor was, however, pain at that specific anatomical site at baseline. Only a few of the personal and life-style factors were associated with pain. Conclusions: An overwhelming majority of the women in common occupations were affected by musculoskeletal pain. Both ergonomic and psychosocial factors were predictive of a high number of pain sites and of specific pain sites. These findings indicate the need for preventive measures on the individual, organizational and societal level.
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