Musculoskeletal disorders among irish farmers

Background Farming is an occupation that predisposes individuals to health problems including musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). There is limited research regarding MSDs among farmers especially in Ireland. Aims To establish the prevalence of MSDs, identify the most commonly affected body regions and to explore what factors may influence the development of the most common MSDs among farmers in Ireland. Methods A questionnaire survey of Irish farmers was conducted. The study sample comprised 600 farmers (100 farmers from each of the six main farm enterprise systems in Ireland). Results Of the 600 farmers, 56% had experienced a MSD in the previous year. The most commonly experienced MSDs were back pain (37%) and neck/shoulder pain (25%). Other MSDs experienced in the previous year included knee pain (9%), hand-wrist-elbow pain (9%), ankle/foot pain (9%) and hip pain (8%). Overall, MSDs were more common in farmers working longer hours (P < 0.05). Back pain was more prevalent in full-time farmers (P < 0.05), while prevalence of hip pain was greater in farmers who were older (P < 0.01), full time (P < 0.05), farming for longer (P < 0.01) and working for longer hours (P < 0.01). Farm enterprise was not a factor in influencing the development of MSDs. Conclusions These findings suggest that the number of hours worked by farmers, rather than enterprise specific tasks render farmers more susceptible to MSDs. Further investigation is needed to explore risk factors in the development of MSDs

Occupational activities and osteoarthritis of the knee

Background: The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is rising and the search for interventions to mitigate risk is intensifying. This review considers the contribution of occupational activities to disease occurrence and the lessons for prevention.Sources: Systematic search in Embase and Medline covering the period 1996 to November 2011.Areas of agreement: Reasonably good evidence exists that physical work activities (especially kneeling, squatting, lifting and climbing) can cause and/or aggravate knee OA. These exposures should be reduced where possible. Obese workers with such exposures are at additional risk of knee OA and should therefore particularly be encouraged to lose weight.Areas of uncertainty/research need: Workplace interventions and policies to prevent knee OA have seldom been evaluated. Moreover, their implementation can be problematic. However, the need for research to optimize the design of work in relation to knee OA is pressing, given population trends towards extended working life.<br/