Work-related musculoskeletal disorders on the decline in Ontario: IWH study

Study tracked three sources, all showed decline over eight-year period

A study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) shows work-related musculoskeletal disorders are declining in Ontario.

The study, titled “Time trends in musculoskeletal disorders attributed to work exposures in Ontario using three independent data sources, 2004-2011” and published online by the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, also notes a decline in other more traumatic job-related injuries.

The study, led by IWH president Dr. Cameron Mustard, took place between 2004 and 2011. It tracked the incidence of work-related non-traumatic musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and other work injuries in Ontario. All three independent sources of information used show a decline in both work-related MSDs and traumatic work injuries over the eight-year period.

“The study focuses on MSDs separately from other work injuries because they represent the largest disability burden among working adults in developed economies,” says Mustard.

“Moreover, the way workplaces assess and control non-traumatic MSDs is very different than the way they do other more traumatic work injuries.”

Sprains and strains of the neck, back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and other joints and connective tissue of the musculoskeletal system as a result of awkward, forceful and/or repetitive movements and postures constitute MSDs. They have consistently been the leading type of work injury in Ontario over the past 10 years, representing 40 per cent of all lost-time claims in the province in 2013, according to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board 2013 statistical report.

The study says workers’ compensation lost-time claim records show a 48.2-per-cent decline in non-traumatic, work-related MSDs and a 39.4-per-cent decline in traumatic work-related injuries. Emergency department treatment records show a 16.3-per-cent decline in MSDs and a 30.2-per-cent decline in other work injuries. A Statistics Canada national health survey shows a 40.7-per-cent decline in MSDs and 45.1-per-cent decline in other work injuries.

The study cannot say if declining injury rates can be attributed to deliberate efforts by workplaces and health and safety system partners to reduce injury risk, but Mustard says it does suggest efforts to prevent MSDs are proving to be as effective as efforts to prevent traumatic work-related injuries.

Latest stories