Manual handling


Musculoskeletal disorders (also known as MSDs), including back pain and RSI (see Chapter 8), have consistently been the most commonly reported type of work-related illness. The HSE reported that there had generally been a downward trend in the prevalence rate of work-related MSDs (WRMSDs) since 2001-02, but the rate for 2013-14 was statistically significantly higher than that of 2011-12. The latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), published in October 2015, show that in Great Britain:


• The total number of work-related WRMSDs cases (prevalence) in 2014-15 was 553,000, out of a total of 1,243,000, for all work related illnesses, 44% of the total. In 2013-14, the figures were 526,000 out of a total 1,241,000 for all work-related illnesses;


• The number of new cases of WRMSDs (incidence) in 2014-15 was 169,000, an incidence rate of 530 cases per 100,000 people. The estimated number and rate fell in the ten years to 2011-12, but rose in 2013-14 to 184,000, up from 141,000 in 2011-12 (no data was collected in 2012-13), and have remained at a similar level in the latest year;


• An estimated 9.5 million working days were lost due to WRMSDs, an average of 17 days lost for each case. This represents 40% of all days lost due to work related ill-health in 2014-15. In 2013-14 the figures were 8.3 million, an average of 15.9 days per case of MSDs;


• Sectors with higher rates of MSDs include agriculture; construction; health and social care; and the transportation and storage industries; and


• Higher rates of MSDs are seen in occupations that are common across the above industries, such as health and caring occupations; skilled agricultural and construction trades; and postal workers, and also in some occupations common across other industries such as manufacturing and public administration and defence.