Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the automotive industry due to repetitive work - implications for rehabilitation

作者：Michael Spallek, Walter Kühn, Stefanie Uibel, Anke van Mark, David Quarcoo · 发表于：Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology · 年份：2010 · DOI：10.1186/1745-6673-5-6 · 被引用次数：46 · 研究领域：Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation、Occupational health in dentistry、Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to repetitive work are common in manufacturing industries, such as the automotive industry. However, it's still unclear which MSDs of the upper limb are to be expected in the automotive industry in a first aid unit as well as in occupational precaution examinations. It is also unclear which examination method could be performed effectively for practical reasons and under rehabilitation aspects. Additionally, it was to discuss whether the conception of unspecific description for MSDs has advantages or disadvantages in contrast to a precise medical diagnosis. METHODS: We investigated the health status of two study populations working at two automotive plants in Germany. The first part included 67 consecutive patients who were seen for acute or chronic MSDs at the forearm over a 4-month period at the plants' medical services. Information about patients' working conditions and musculoskeletal symptoms was obtained during a standardized interview, which was followed by a standardized orthopedic-chiropractic physical examination. In the second part, 209 workers with daily exposure to video display terminals (VDT) completed a standardized questionnaire and were examined with function-oriented muscular tests on the occasion of their routine occupational precaution medical check-up. RESULTS: The majority of the 67 patients seen by the company's medical services were blue-collar works from the assembly lines and trainees rather than whit...