AS humans, we spend a minimum of eight hours every day at work, sometimes as long as 35 years before finally going onto retirement, and are therefore exposed to perils at the workplace for a considerable duration of our lives.The possibility of any individual in 'productive' years suffering from Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is as high as 80 per cent and work activities usually determine the type of the MSDs an individual gets exposed to.MSDs have been recently discovered to be prevalent amongst top executives, office workers, health care workers, computer operators, engineers etc.It is therefore one of those ailments without a predictive pattern of occurrence and without prejudice to sex, race, age group, etc, as the causes are diverse.Available evidence shows that musculoskeletal problems are the largest single cause of absence from work, not barred by industry or job function contributing huge chunks of deficit in resources each year from medical help and workers compensations.Musculoskeletal problems, like the name suggests, are problems involving muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones and nerve bundles in any region of the body mostly often around joints.Typical complaints characterising this problem include pain in the back, arms, legs, neck, fingers with or without swelling and limited movement in the affected part.Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), like many health conditions, can be caused or aggravated by work-related factors and if not identified, encourages recurrence.Musculoskeletal problems lead to injuries or disorders affecting muscles, bone, tendon, ligament, nerves and neurovascular bundles, which occur from mechanical or physical stressors to the body. These conditions are commonly sudden and the contributor is easily identified, while disorders arise out of prolonged or persistent insult to body structures.Work-related MSDs mostly affect the neck, shoulders, arm, wrist, hands and back, but don't necessarily exclude other regions of the body.Affectation varies according to your job type, as miners, for example, would suffer a lot of problems with the back, hips and knee joints.Office workers, computer operators, heavy lifting operators, lawyers, nurses, doctors, health care workers, journalists, writers, editors, logistics, transportation workers, bankers, tennis player and athletes, packaging and assembling workers are prone to MSD complaints in the wrists, hands, arms, neck, shoulder and back.Lumbago, another name for low back pain, repetitive sprains, tears, carpal tunnel syndrome involving the hands and epicondylitis of the elbow joint are popular work-related MSDs.Database operators, software designers, statisticians, writers, editors and jobs revolving around use of computers require prolonged sitting at their workstations to carry out their duties.Posture adopted during this many hours is crucial in spotting an individual likely to have this problem. Many individual's slouch don't provide enough support for their backs, bend their necks to enable them stare into their desks, ultimately adapting themselves to fit the workstation are very likely candidates when compared to a worker who supports him/herself by adjusting the lever that controls back rest of office seats, keeps back straight, works at suitable heights, which discourages bending.Healthcare workers, such as nurses, workers in packaging industries, courier services, air cabin crew and others who attempt heavy lifting weights in combination with stretching, bending, stooping and haulage activities are also candidates for low back problems.Workers in the armed forces, police, doctors on wards rounds, whose jobs involve lots of standing, are not excluded.Engineers, whose jobs require the use of hand-held tools practice lots of hand movements, such as twisting, turning, bending and vibrations when assembling, loosening and coupling parts and this could be for extended periods of time.These movements, in addition to the repetitive nature of their jobs, set the pace for developing repetitive strain injuries in the wrists, hands and arms, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.Several jobs come with their own appendages and unarguably the most popular device that has found use in virtually every workplace is a computer.Carpal tunnel syndrome is also closely knit to jobs involving a lot of keyboard punching, so it commonly occurs amongst company secretaries, database operators, computer users and musicians who play stringed instruments as a result of the repetitive nature of tasks.The syndrome refers to a condition involving the tunnel surrounded by small bones around the wrist. Carpal tunnel is therefore located in the wrists of both hands and contains an important nerve called the median nerve.During the repetitive hand movements at work, there is a tendency towards wear and tear of tendons that enters this tunnel, which could lead to swelling.The carpal tunnel is originally small, consequently, swelling around the region further compresses the space, narrows the tunnel, so that the median nerve is put under pressure.The median nerve itself normally supplies the thumb, index finger, middle and thumb side of the ringer finger with sensation and movement. Nerve compression compromises its functions and creates problems.The individual would complain of weakness in the hand, pain over the wrists or palm, numbness or tingling feelings over the area supplied by the nerve, inability to perform fine movements of the hand and may not be able to handle a carrier bag.If problem is left to last, there would be loss of muscle bulk or wasting over the thumb side of the palm and permanent nerve damage.This condition has a significant impact on the individual's life, as they experience a weaker hand grip when shaking hands, drop objects easily, such as newspapers or handbags, have driving problems and sometimes are unable to perform previous tasks, such as typing, plucking a stringed instrument, thereby prompting them to seek for help.Surgeries remain the only definitive treatment when other medical options fail. However, in due course, these attempts are futile should the individual be involved in work characterised by repetitive tasks, extended range of hand motions, use of hand-held vibrating or non-vibrating tools and other occupational contributors that are left unattended.-Obanor is a UK-trained occupational health physician.Questions or comments to SilverleafAfrica@gmail.com or www.silverleafafrica.blogspot.com, or SMS to 08050506307
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