Abstract
Purpose
Musculoskeletal pain at multiple sites is common among working-age people and greatly increases work disability risk. Little is known of the work-related physical and psychosocial factors contributing to multi-site pain.
Methods
Survey responses from 734 employees (518 blue- and 216 white-collar; 65 % female) of a food processing company were collected twice, in 2005 and 2009. Information on musculoskeletal pain during the preceding week, and on environmental, biomechanical and psychosocial work exposures were obtained through a structured questionnaire. The association of multi-site pain with work exposures was estimated with logistic regression by gender and age group.
Results
At baseline, 54 % of informants reported pain in more than one area, and 50 % at 4-year follow-up. Forty percent of all employees had multi-site pain both at baseline and at follow-up. Among those with multi-site pain at baseline, 69 % had multi-site pain at follow-up. Both repetitive work and awkward work postures at baseline were associated with multi-site pain at follow-up. Psychosocial factors (low job satisfaction, low team spirit, and little opportunity to exert influence at work) also strongly predicted multi-site pain at follow-up, especially among younger workers and men.
Conclusion
This prospective study provides new evidence of the high occurrence and persistence of musculoskeletal pain at multiple body sites in an industrial population with a strong association between biomechanical and psychosocial exposures at work and multi-site pain. Prevention of multi-site pain with many-sided modification of work exposures is likely to reduce work disability.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund, grant no. 102308 and 105365. The authors thank the employees of the Saarioinen Oy for their contributions to the project. The Gerontology Research Center is a joint effort between the University of Tampere and the University of Jyväskylä.
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Neupane, S., Miranda, H., Virtanen, P. et al. Do physical or psychosocial factors at work predict multi-site musculoskeletal pain? A 4-year follow-up study in an industrial population. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 86, 581–589 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0792-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0792-2