Workplace MSD Hazards

 

A workplace hazard is a potential source of harm to a worker. The harm in this case is the potential development of a

Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) such as shoulder pain. MSD hazards typically appear when the way that work is organized brings the worker and the work environment together.  

 

Basic MSD hazards

  • Awkward postures
  • High forces exerted by workers
  • High repetition, static postures (and other time-related issues)
  • Vibration
  • Local contact stress 
  • Temperature

 

Combinations of MSD Hazards

At work, MSD hazards typically occur in combination. For example:

  • Long durations spent in an awkward posture (i.e. shoulder postures when completing overhead work) 
  • Forceful exertions on a frequent basis
  • Work may require a high force to be exerted in an awkward posture with a vibrating tool

Hazard recognition is the first step in the RACE process. If an MSD hazard is identified and concensus is achieved by management and workers that a practical control is available, it should be implemented to eliminate or control the hazard. More in-depth analysis through MSD risk assessment is required if the control does not eliminate the MSD hazard.

 

When multiple MSD hazards are present in the same task, it can be difficult to know how the interaction impacts overall MSD risk. Observational and comprehensive risk assessment methods use scoring systems or equations to assess the combined effect of MSD hazards. 

 

Learn more about the different types of MSD Hazard Identification tools and Risk Assessment methods. 

 

Awkward Posture 

Posture is the position of the body and its joints – an elbow is bent (flexed) or straight (extended). Some positions of a joint are stronger and healthier than others. These are sometimes called neutral postures. An awkward posture is one where the joint is weaker and where it does not function well. These awkward postures, over time, can lead to fatigue and increased risk of developing MSD.

 

Hand and Wrist Posture

The hand is wonderfully versatile and can use a wide range of grips at work. Also, the wrist joint works together with the finger joints to create strong and natural grips. MSD posture hazards for the hands are seen when tools, equipment, products or the workspace require a worker to use poor grips or awkward postures. Also, the grip forces are weaker in this situation.

 

Positions of the Hand

 

Download a PDF of Strong and Natural Postures for the Hands and Wrists here.

Working Hand Postures

At work, the hand grips or touches objects: A good working posture for the hand and wrist occurs when the hand can exert strong forces and the wrist is in a posture that minimizes loads on the muscles and bones.

 

The following animations and images use Green, yellow and orange shading to distinguish between well and poorly designed work.

 

 

An animation showing the meaning of the colours can be seen here.

 

Power Grip

In a power grip the object touches the palm of the hand and the fingers. It uses the whole hand. It is a strong position and with a good size grip, it is best for high force tasks.

 

A pdf of power grip postures can be seen here and an animation of these postures can be seen here.

 

 

Power grip with a hand tool

?An animation of these postures can be seen here and a pdf showing strong and natural power grip working postures when using a tool can be seen here.

 

An animation of how to choose a good tool shape for a task can be seen here.

 

 

 

Pinch Grip

The object is held by the tips of the thumb and fingers. The object does not touch the palm of the hand. A Pinch Grip only has ¼ strength of a power grip. It is good for precision tasks but it is a weak grip that fatigues quickly with high forces. Ask, “Why is a pinch grip is used for a task that requires high forces?”.

 

An animation of these postures can be seen here and a pdf of pinch grip working postures can be seen here.

 

To find tools that help identify Hand and Wrist hazards and to assess work using the hands go to the Tool Picker.

 

Use these videos and graphics to help identify hazards as well as referring to them when using assessment tools.

 

Shoulder Posture

To find assessment tools that help identify Shoulder hazards and assess work go to the Tool Picker.

 

Back (Spine) Posture

The spine is made up of hundreds of muscles and bones and their coordinated movement is required during work to both create motion and withstand loads.

The spine is extremely strong but it is weaker in some specific postures such as high trunk flexion (bending forward, such as when touching your toes) and twisting the trunk. Work needs be designed so that workers do not have to work in poor postures.

 

How the design of the workplace affects the spine posture during Lifting and Lowering?

Different arrangements of the workplace require the spine to adopt different postures. The height and reach required strongly affect the posture of the spine.

 

A animation of workplace factors affecting spine postures can be seen here and a pdf can be seen here.

 

Use these videos and graphics to help identify hazards as well as referring to them when using low back assessment tools.

 

To find more tools that help identify low back hazards and assess work go to the Tool Picker.

 

High Force

What is high force? Examples include the force exerted on a box during lifting or the grip force to hold a hand tool. The loads lifted and grip forces exerted on objects outside the body are called external forces.  If the external force is high then muscles around the joints must contract forcefully and create internal forces that loads the bones, muscles, ligaments etc. It is the high forces inside the body that can lead to the development of fatigue or MSD.   

 

For example, a worker can hold a specific tool in either a power grip or a pinch grip. The worker has to use the same force (external force) to do the job using either grip.  However, the forces in the muscle and bones of the hand and arm (internal forces) are much higher when using the pinch grip.

 

A power grip is good for tasks with high force. A pinch grip gives better precision BUT the forces in the muscles and bones are much higher. This can increase fatigue and the risk of developing MSD in pinch grips.

 

Another example would be holding a weight in the hands, an external force. If the arms are hanging down and holding the weight at hip level, the internal loads in the muscle and ligaments of the shoulder are low.

 

Compare this to the situation where the arms are stretched out horizontally at shoulder level. The load creates a high torque about the shoulder.  (It is also called a high “moment of force” or more simply a “moment”). Now, although the weight is the same, the internal loads in the muscle and ligaments of the shoulder are much higher. This is why loads should be held close to the body to reduce internal forces. Again, it is these internal forces that can lead to fatigue and injury.

 

Low Back Forces
How the design of the workplace affects the weight that can be handled during Lifting and Lowering:

 

Different arrangements of the workplace and the load to be lifted strongly affect loads in the spine and thus the weights that can be handled.

 

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the USA created a tool  called the NIOSH Equation. It can be used to assess lifting tasks but in this section it gives a good idea of how design of the workplace changes the tolerance of the spine.

 

A different approach to understanding how the design of the workplace affects  the load tolerance of the spine  during lifting and lowering is seen in a tool developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, or ACGIH or short.

 

Watch the video explaining the 6 Factors affecting Lifting and a pdf document including this information can be downloaded here

 

Use these videos and graphics to help identify hazards as well as referring to them when using low back assessment tools.

 

To find more tools that help identify low back hazards and assess work go to the Tool Picker.

 

Repetition/ Time Related Descriptions of MSD

Work is not a still picture - postures change, loads are lifted and tools are grasped.   How the postures and forces change over time makes a big difference to the musculoskeletal health and productivity of workers. 

 

The term “repetition” is often used to describe this changing picture. Is it a high repetition or a low repetition job? Or does the person spend a long time bent over (a static posture), or are they frequently bending over then standing up (repetitive work)?  Closely related concepts include recovery (does the body have sufficient rest time) and duty cycle (the percentage of time that the body is working or exerting force) . 

 

Different studies and tools use different concepts to describe these time-related aspects of MSD hazards.  Each way of describing them has merit. More recent studies and tools use concepts of duty cycle and recovery more frequently.

 

Repetition, duty cycle and recovery are highly dependent on Work Organization.See below to learn about the importance of Work Organization and MSD.

 

Repetition

 

Repeating the same activity over and over again. For time-related descriptions of MSD hazards, the definition developed by Dr. Barbara Silverstein in her groundbreaking work in 1986 is commonly used.

 

A High Repetition task was defined as

 

having a cycle time of less than 30 seconds,

OR

having more than 50% of the cycle time performing the same kind of fundamental cycles (also described as more than 50% of the work shift)

 

Otherwise it was classified as a Low Repetition task.

 

Static and Dynamic

 

Postures or forces are often described as static or dynamic. 

  • A static posture or force does not change (it is constant). Sitting in a chair using a computer is an example of a static posture of the back and shoulders. Note that the hands may not have static postures or static forces during typing. When using a mouse however, static postures of the hand and fingers may be seen.

  • A dynamic posture or dynamic force means that it changes frequently with time.

Duration of Work

 

The duration of work has an effect on the risk of developing MSD. A work shift may be 8 hours in length but it may be 2 hours or as long as 12 hours. Some assessment methods include its effects. The longer the exposure to hazards, the higher the likelihood of developing MSD

 

Duty Cycle (DC)

 

Duty Cycle is the percentage of time that muscles are active compared to when they are resting (recovering):

 

DC = Time that the that muscles are active (sec) x 100%

          Time of a complete cycle of activity (sec)

OR

DC = Time that the that muscles are active (sec)   x 100%

          (Time that the that muscles are active + Time that the muscles are recovering) (sec)

 

Schematic of Different Duty Cycles

 

Descriptions of Repetition Based upon Duty Cycle

 

Prediction of acceptable efforts for repetitive tasks

 

Dr. Potvin synthesized data from multiple sources describing maximum allowable work based upon the psychophysical approach. The horizontal axis shows the duty cycle of the task. The vertical axis shows the proportion of a person’s maximum voluntary contraction that was exerted. The value of 1 corresponds to 100% of a maximum effort. 

 

If the intersection of the two values is below the line, the task is acceptable but if the intersection is above the line, the task is not acceptable based upon this method. For example, a task with a Duty Cycle of 0.5 (50%) and a force of 0.3 (30% MVC) is above the line and is thus not acceptable. Note that efforts greater than about 65% MVC should be infrequent and very short to be acceptable.

 

 

ACGIH TLV for Upper Limb Localized Fatigue

 

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) published a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for local fatigue. This method is similar to, and partially based upon, the relationships published by Potvin.

 

Hand Activity Level (HAL)

 

The HAL scale combines two aspects of time related MSD hazards: repetition and duty cycle. It was developed by Drs. Latko and Armstrong at the University of Michigan to better describe work using the hands. The HAL scale can be used to identify time-related MSD hazards. The HAL rating can also be used to help identify improvements to tasks.

 

The two ends of the HAL scale are:

  • A HAL of zero (0) corresponds to a person’s hands being relaxed almost all of the time with very few hand efforts.

  • A HAL of 10 corresponds to a person’s hand gripping or pinching almost all the time (almost no pauses) or their hands being in constant motion.

HAL can be estimated based upon observations by an individual or a group.

 

A video describing the HAL Scale can be seen here and a pdf can be seen here.

 

Next Steps with the HAL rating

Together with the grip force of the hand, the HAL rating can be used for risk assessment of the hand and forearm. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) published a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for Hand Activity Level (HAL).

 

Breaks, Pauses, Micro-pauses

 

The duration of time with no muscle activity or load - where there is a recovery possibility – can be described as Breaks,  Pauses or Micro-pauses. For recovery, as the length of time with no activity decrease the number of them must increase.

 

Although there is no agreed definitions for these terms, the following table gives some examples.

 

 

Duration

Example

Breaks

Often measured in minutes

A five minute tea break in the morning or afternoon

Pauses

Often measured in seconds

A two second pause between parts on an assembly line when there is the possibility of recovery.

Micro-pauses

Often measured in parts of a second

Times during a task when there are very short periods when there is the possibility of recovery.

 

In a study of biscuit [cookie] packing, workers that developed neck and shoulder pain had a lower frequency of interruptions or “gaps” in sustained muscular activity and less muscle rest compared to workers without neck and shoulder pain.

 

To be effective, a pause or micropause must allow for recovery. For this to happen the muscle cannot be contracting, it must be relaxed. For example, if a worker is drilling with a power tool and they must continue to hold the tool, even when no part is present, there would be no recovery. Suspending the drill on a tool balancer is a common workplace change that allows relaxation of muscles (and thus recovery) when no part is present.

 

Rest Allowance

 

The rest allowance curves were published by Dr. Rohmert in 1973. The diagram shows the force exerted on the horizontal axis and the length of time that the effort is held (holding time in minutes) on the vertical axis. The contour lines show the recommended recovery time in percentage of the holding time for a given combination of holding time and force.

 

For example, for a force of 0.3 (30%MVC) and a holding time of 3 minutes, the intersection is approximately on the 400% contour line. The recovery time is therefore 12 minutes (3 mins x 400%). This would give a total cycle time of 15mins (3+12 mins), equivalent to a duty cycle of 20% (3/15 x 100%).

 

Note: Rest allowances are commonly used in industrial engineering time studies. These are not the same as the concept just described. A rest allowance as used in industrial engineering time studies is a factor applied to the job overall, for example 10%. It does not necessarily allow sufficient local recovery or protect a specific joint or body region from fatigue or the development of MSD.

 

 

Rohmert, W. (1973). Problems of determination of rest allowances Part 2: Determining rest allowances in different human tasks. Applied ergonomics, 4(3), 158-162.

 

Caution: The method predicts that efforts of 15% of a maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) or less could be held for ever. Later studies found to be untrue. Caution must therefore be used when assessing tasks with efforts below about 25%MVC. The “Potvin” equation can be used in these circumstances.

 

Vibration 

A worker may be exposed to vibration in two main ways: Through the hands or through the buttocks or feet.

  • At the hands, for example by a vibrating hand tool such as a drill. This is called Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) Note this is a link to an external web site

  • Through the feet if standing, or through the buttocks if sitting. This is called Whole Body Vibration (WBV)

For details of factors affecting operator exposure to whole-body vibration see here and for a description of health standards used to assess whole-body vibration see here.

 

Local Contact Stress

A tool that digs into a worker’s hand or the pressure on the kneecap when kneeling both create local contact stresses. These contact stresses can, over time, injure the skin and cause blisters or injure the nerves, muscles, ligaments or bones beneath the skin. 

 

Cold

There is some evidence that working in cold temperatures is associated with an increased risk of developing MSD. Different mechanisms have been proposed. However, working in the cold often requires a worker to wear a glove which can greatly increase the effort required to grip objects so attention should be directed to good glove selection first. For a discussion of gloves and MSD see here.

 

Work Organization and MSD

 

Work Organization is defined as the way work is structured, distributed, processed and supervised.

 

When it comes to Identifying an MSD hazard or performing a Risk Assessment,  it is important to know how the job or how the work is organized. MSD hazards may be due the design of the workspace but the work organization may minimize or magnify their effects.

 

A low work table may not necessarily increase the risk of developing MSD if a worker only works there briefly during the day. But if the job description (a part of work organization) dictates that the worker must work all day at that table with minimum breaks, the low table becomes a clear hazard.

 

Work Organization determines how the worker and workplace interact. MSD Hazards may emerge from this interaction.

 

 

During a root cause analysis or a 5Why investigation of an MSD hazard, consideration of the work organization is critical.

 

Details of the work organization can be found in procedures, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Human Resources documents, wage policies etc.

 

Work organization determines to a large extent who, what, where, when and how the worker and workplace interact. MSD Hazards may emerge from this interaction. 

 

Using an example from Health Care:

  • Who does the task: Which person or team transfers the patient?

  • What is the task:  What transfer is needed? For toileting or repositioning?

  • Where does the task take place: Is the task performed in a corridor or a toilet stall?

  • When is it done:  On nightshift or dayshift?

  • How is the task done:  Are safe work practices available? Is there a “no lift” policy?

Asking about who, what, where, when and how may also be helpful in a Root cause analysis or 5Why.

 

Workplace MSD hazards based upon the Quick Start Guide: General

The Quick Start Guide: General describes key MSD prevention strategies. The approach of the Quick Start Guide is to identify common workplace MSD hazards and show how these could be eliminated or reduced in common tasks. The mini-posters in the Quick Start Guide: General can be used for hazard identification and as a guide on how to control hazards. This resource is applicable to many types of work and across sectors.

 

  1. STORE IT OFF THE FLOOR: Store – and work on – objects between hip and chest height.

  2. KEEP IT CLOSE: Store objects or work close to the belly button.

  3. HANDS BELOW HEAD: Work with hands below the head.

  4. LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD: Work with the head straight and level.

  5. GET A (GOOD) GRIP: Tools and gloves should fit the hands and keep hands and wrists strong.

  6. CHANGE IT UP: A well-organized job has variety and pauses that give the body time to recover.

  7. WORK SHOULDN’T HURT: Use reports of discomfort to trigger workplace change.

 

Note: The Quick Start Guide: General does not include all MSD hazards.

 

Workplace MSD hazards based upon the Quick Start Guide: Office

In the Quick Start Guide: Office, key MSD prevention strategies have been extracted from the literature and the Canadian Standards Association Z412 Office Ergonomics Standard 2018. The approach of the Office Quick Start Guide is to identify the common MSD hazards found in office tasks and show how these could be eliminated or reduced.

 

The mini-posters in the Office Quick Start Guide can bes used as hazard identification tools and as a guide on how to control hazards.

 

  1. OVERVIEW: Provides a summary of the main actions to help prevent MSD during office work.

  2. WORKING POSITIONS: There is no single “correct” position for all office work.

  3. SUPPORT THE BODY: Reduce fatigue by supporting your back, thighs, feet by a chair, or footrest.

  4. SUPPORT THE ARMS: Arms need support during keying and mousing to allow the shoulders to stay relaxed and reduce fatigue.

  5. SEE: Your body follows your eyes and can “pull“ your body into awkward positions. Set up your workspace to allow a clear view of your work.

  6. REACH: Reduce long or awkward reaches for the keyboard, mouse or phone.

  7. WORK SHOULDN’T HURT: Use reports of discomfort to trigger workplace change.

 

Note: The Quick Start Guide: Office does not include all MSD hazards.

 

 

Common Workplace Task Specific Hazards

 

The hazards of force, posture, repetition/time, vibration and cold are independent of job, task or sector. However, common combinations of these hazards are seen in different types of task and sectors. For example, using a power hand tool has hazards of force and vibration.  These common task specific hazards also have controls that are similar across sectors.

 

Sitting and Standing  

Many jobs require sitting, standing or a combination of both. Workers in retail may stand without taking more than a few steps for an entire shift. A worker in a hydro-generating station may sit and monitoring multiple visual displays and only stand up occasionally in an entire shift. Neither of these situations is desirable.

 

There are working postures other than sitting or standing. They include a reclined seated working posture, a semi-standing working posture supported by a stool, or a standing posture with a raised support for one foot.

 

There is no single “correct working position that produces comfort for extended periods of time or that fits everybody’s personal work habits and body.

  • Sitting: Best for tasks requiring high concentration, high precision or demanding visual requirements; little if any lifting or long reaches.

  • Standing: Best for tasks requiring a lot of movement and time spent away from the workstation or long reaches or lifting.

  • Semi-standing: Best when most tasks are suitable for standing but a worker would benefit from a break from standing.

  • Sit to stand: Best when users need to be at eye level with a customer or client, when a variety of tasks are performed that require both sitting and standing positions, when a job involves movement to get to other equipment or when a user lifts

Sitting and standing involve different body regions and their effects on the body are different. However because they involve different body regions, alternating between sitting and standing is suggested as a common control.

Use the Tool Picker for more details of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in sitting and standing.

 

A pdf on different working postures can be seen here

 

For controls for work involving sitting and standing go to the Hazards and Controls page and enter your details. 

 

Information Technology /Computer Work

Working with computers is part of most jobs and many jobs involve working with these devices for the majority of the time.  Work using computers involves potential concerns of sitting or standing for prolonged periods, looking continuously at visual displays (monitors) and using input devices such as a keyboard or mouse.

 

There are also concerns with using mobile devices such as tablets or cell phones, especially if they replace “desktop” computers.

 

Four ideas, “Working postures”, Support, See and Reach can be used to allow healthy and effective use of information technology.

 

An introduction to the topic of Office Work can be found in the Quick Start Guide: Office.

 

Working with visual displays (monitors)

Your body follows your eyes and they can “pull“ your body into awkward positions.

Set the top of the screen at about eye height and the screen about an arms length away to start, then adjust it from there.

A pdf on the importance of vision during monitor use can be seen here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working with keyboards

Arm support when using a keyboard and mouse

?Arms need support during keying and mousing to allow the shoulders to stay relaxed. The workstation should be set up so the shoulders are comfortable, the upper arm is relaxed and close to the side of the body and the wrist is in a comfortable position. Depending on the equipment available and the working postures chosen, support for the arms and shoulders may come from chair arm rests, a keyboard tray, palm rest or the work surface.

 

Four common arm support situations:

  1. Fixed height desk with armrests on chair: Adjust armrests for fit and comfort. Now adjust the chair height so the armrest height is the same as the desk surface. If this isn’t possible, even with a foot-rest, a keyboard tray may help

  2. Keyboard tray and arm rests on chair: Adjust chair height and armrests for fit and comfort. Then adjust keyboard tray height to armrest height: Rest the meaty part of the hand – not the wrist. Alternatively, remove “wrist rest” and use the support of the armrests. Note: Avoid or change keyboard trays with no room for mouse.

  3. Adjustable height table – Option A: After adjusting chair and armrests height for fit and comfort, adjust desktop height to arm rest height. Position keyboard and mouse close to edge of desk and use the support of the armrests, but don’t rest the wrists on the table edge.

  4. Adjustable height table – Option B: After adjusting the chair height for fit and comfort, adjust the desktop height to match elbow height. Push keyboard back about 30cm (12”) from front edge of desk. Move chair close to table. Rest the whole forearm on the table but avoid pressure on the elbows. Note: If armrests get in the way, lower them or swing them out of the way.

All the parts of the workstation have to work together: After adjusting the individual parts of the workstation separately, fine-tune the setup so the workstation fits your body and tasks.

 

A pdf of equipment adjustment to provide arm support when using a keyboard and mouse can be seen here.

 

Keyboard and mouse placement

 

A pdf of keyboard and mouse placement can be seen here.

?

 

Keyboard Height and Keyboard Tilt

 

A pdf summarizing good and poor keyboard heights and tilts can be seen here [Hands and Wrists - Standard Computer Keyboard.pdf].

 

Three animations showing good and poor keyboard heights and tilts can be seen.

 

Working with mobile devices

Laptops, tablets and cellphones are used more and more for office work, often not in the office. Using accessories, and limiting the time spent using the devices can reduce fatigue and discomfort.

  • Adding an external screen, docking station, mouse or external keyboard to laptop computers reduces fatigue and discomfort for longer duration use.

  • Users of tablet computers or cell phones for office work should select external keyboards, stands, supports or tablet holsters, pouches or pockets.

For Controls for working with information technology go to the Hazards and Controls page and enter your details.

 

Manual Materials Handling (MMH)

Manual Materials Handling (MMH) involves moving objects or materials. It includes lifting and lowering; pushing and pulling and carrying.

 

It is seen in many jobs: a worker in a hospital laundry may lift bags of dirty laundry or a worker in a warehouse may move a wide variety of shapes and sizes of objects for entire shift. A municipal grounds maintenance worker may occasionally move heavy objects such as tables alone.

 

 Note: MMH does not include Client/ Patient Handling.

 

Lifting and lowering

The workplace lifting and lowering conditions hugely affect the loads placed on the spine and thus the likelihood of developing fatigue and MSD. In a perfect lifting situation the load is: Close in to the body, at waist height, not moved much, infrequently lifted, moved with no twist, and moved with a good grip on the object.

 

NIOSH Equation Approach

Six factors were identified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the USA (NIOSH) that were important:

An animation showing how the lifting and lowering conditions in the workplace affect loads on the body can be seen here and a pdf can be seen here.

 

The NIOSH Equation can be used to assess lifting and lowering tasks and give recommended weight limits. An animation showing how the lifting and lowering conditions in the workplace affect loads on the body can be seen here and a pdf can be seen here.

 

ACGIH Approach

A different approach to understanding how the design of the workplace affects the load tolerance of the spine  during lifting and lowering is seen in a tool developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, or ACGIH or short.

A animation of  workplace factors affecting lifting  can be seen here and a pdf can be seen here.

Pushing and pulling

Under Development

 

Carrying

Under Development

 

Client/ Patient Handling

Moving and transferring clients/patients is a highly demanding physical activity. These activities can be seen in Acute Care Hospitals, Residential Care facilities, Nursing Homes and in home care settings.

 

Although controls may differ depending on the location, the hazards are dependent on the particular handling task performed. Tasks include transfers from bed to wheelchair or toilet; transfers from a bed to a stretcher or repositioning the client/patient.

 

Use the Tool Picker for more details of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in Client/ Patient Handling

 

For controls for Client/ Patient Handling go to the Hazards and Controls page and enter your details.

 

Overhead Work

Overhead work is defined as working with the arms above shoulder level OR with the hands above head level OR with the upper arm above shoulder level. Whatever definition is used, overhead work creates high loads on the shoulders. During overhead work, shoulder muscles fatigue quickly. It has been shown that the fatigue of some of these muscles allows the head of the humorous bone to trap key muscles and tendons. Over time this can cause pain and injury to the shoulders.

 

Use the Tool Picker for more details of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in overhead work.

 

For controls for overhead work go to the Hazards and Controls page and enter keywords “shoulder” and “overhead”

 

Power Tools

Power tools can expose the user to high vibration, high forces to hold and position the tool or part, kickback or torque reaction as well as awkward postures to position the power tool.

 

 

Power Tool Vibration

 

Power tools are a very common source of Hand Arm Vibration. Click here to jump to the Hand Arm Vibration section of the website

 

Use the Tool Picker for more details of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment for work with power tools.

 

For controls for work with power tools go to the Hazards and Controls page and use keywords, “vibration” or  “tool” or “HAVS”.

 

 

                    

 

 

MSD prevention site factsheet

What's New? 

 

We are working to continuously develop the MSD Prevention Guideline. Watch for new content, including more resources and case studies.

 

 

MSD prevention site factsheet

Factsheet 

 

Download the factsheet introducing the MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario website.

 

Sad Face Icons

Case Studies 

 

Read success stories and case studies about preventing MSD. These stories may apply to your workplace and help you make the right decision.

 

 

Question mark

FAQ 

 

Frequently asked questions. There are lots of myths about preventing MSD at work. With good information and actions, MSD can be prevented.

 

 

 

WSIB's Health and Safety Excellence Program

 

Why join?

 

Keeping your team safe and healthy at work is good for business. WSIB's Health and Safety Excellence program provides a clear roadmap to improve safety in your workplace, whether you're just getting started or want to improve systems and processes you already have in place.

 

No matter how large or small your business is, the Health and Safety Excellence program can help. Connect with a WSIB-approved provider who can help you address your business’s unique health and safety challenges – and you can earn rebates for the work you do to improve your workplace health and safety. 

 

Check out the Health and Safety Excellence Program website for more information on the program and the benefits.

 

 

Click to view page content references


DISCLAIMER: CRE-MSD receives funding through a grant provided by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Province.


Workplace Solutions to Back Pain, Shoulder Tendinitis, Tennis Elbow & Other Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD):
Search Icon