Musculoskeletal disorders

Summary

• In 2008/09, an estimated 538 000 people in Great Britain, who had worked in the last year, believed they were suffering from a musculoskeletal disorder that was caused or made worse by their current or past work, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (Table SWIT3W12). This equates to 1800 per 100 000 people (1.8%) who worked in the last 12 months in Great Britain.
• Of these, about a third, 191 000 people, first became aware of their work-related musculoskeletal disorder in the previous 12 months. This equates to an estimated 630 per 100 000 people (0.63%) with a new work-related musculoskeletal disorder in 2008/09 (Table SWIT6W12).
• LFS survey data suggests that despite fluctuations in the incidence rate in recent years, overall the incidence rate of self-reported work-related musculoskeletal disorder has fallen over the period 2001/02 to 2008/09.
• The LFS shows that an estimated 9.3 million working days (full-day equivalent) were lost in 2008/09 through musculoskeletal disorders caused or made worse by work (Table SWIT1). On average, each person suffering took an estimated 17.2 days off in that 12 month period. This equates to an annual loss of 0.39 days per worker.
• Overall, the number of days lost per worker has fallen over the period 2001/02 to 2008/09, though in recent years the rate has fluctuated.

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