Advice for employers on supporting workers with musculoskeletal disorders.

Authors: Alice Davis, Joanne O. Crawford and Evanthia Giagloglou (Institute of Occupational Medicine — IOM), Michael Whitmore (RAND Europe)

This report was commissioned by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

A police officer, a receptionist and a podiatrist, each with a chronic musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), discuss their experiences in a study on the most widespread global health issue affecting workers.

This report presents eight case studies of people with chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) who successfully returned to work after sick leave or continued to work with the MSD. The studies aim to examine the experiences of these workers — who were recruited from a variety of organisations, sectors and European countries — to identify good practices.

Early intervention, support from managers and colleagues, and open communication are some of the success factors highlighted by the cases. Simple measures often enabled the people to continue working. The analysis also addresses the transferability of the interventions to other organisations and the benefits of retaining experienced workers.

Check the full report and the summary

Find out more about our research activity on work-related MSDs

Read OSHwiki articles on managing back pain  and working with an MSD