NAS Report Concludes That Workplace Hazards Cause Musculoskeletal Disorders

In a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence, a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report has concluded that ergonomic hazards at work cause musculoskeletal disorders and that there are effective intervention measures to prevent these disorders. The report issued on October 1, 1998, Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Review of the Evidence, was prepared by a committee of leading scientific experts following an August, 1998, workshop which reviewed the scientific evidence on workplace exposures, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and ergonomics.

Background

In May 1998, the NAS received $490,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the request of Rep. Bonilla and Rep. Livingston to conduct a review of the scientific evidence on the work-relatedness of musculoskeletal disorders and to prepare a report for delivery to NIH and Congress by September 30, 1998. A steering committee of scientific and medical experts was chosen to organize a workshop, select leading researchers to participate, and to prepare a report of findings and conclusions based upon the papers and discussions from the workshop.

On August 20–21, 1998, the NAS brought together more than 65 of the leading national and international scientific and medical experts on musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomics for a two day meeting to review the scientific evidence for the work relationship of these disorders and to assess whether interventions at the workplace were effective in reducing ergonomic hazards. The steering committee prepared the report based on the workshop proceedings and the available scientific evidence.

Findings and Conclusions

The major findings and conclusion of the NAS review and report are:

• Musculokeletal disorders are a serious national problem.
• The scientific literature clearly demonstrates that musculoskeletal disorders in workers are caused by exposure to ergonomic hazards at work.
• The incidence of pain, injury, loss of work and disability among workers in jobs with a high level of exposure to ergonomic hazards is greater than that found among workers in jobs with lower levels of exposure.
• For most people, their main exposure to ergonomic hazards is at their work place.
• Scientific research clearly demonstrates that effective work place interventions are available which can reduce ergonomic hazards and prevent musculoskeletal disorders.
• There is evidence that interventions are cost-beneficial for employers.

The NAS report also identified a number of areas of additional research which would provide a better understanding of the relationship between exposure to ergonomic hazards and the development of musculoskeletal disorders including research on (1) mechanisms to help understand how ergonomic hazards cause these disorders; (2) the impact of multiple factors on the development of musculoskeletal disorders; (3) the relationship between the level of exposure to ergonomic hazards and the human body's response for the purpose of targeting intervention efforts; (4) improve the measurement of ergonomic risks and responses and; (5) improving our medical understanding of development these disorders, particularly the contribution that exercise and conditioning may have to reducing the likelihood of there development.

The findings of the NAS report—that the scientific evidence shows that workplace ergonomic factors cause musculoskeletal disorders—confirms the conclusions reached by NIOSH in its 1997 comprehensive scientific review Musculoskeletal Disorders and Workplace Factors. Likewise, the NAS finding that there are effective means to prevent musculoskeletal disorders confirms the positions held by the American Public Health Association, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Scientific Committee on Musculoskeletal Disorders of the International Commission on Occupational Health.

The NAS report shows that there is no truth to the claims by some industry groups and conservative Republicans that there is no scientific evidence that musculoskeletal disorders are caused by workplace exposures and that a workplace ergonomics standard is not warranted. With the release of this report, it is clear the proposal now being pushed by some in Congress to spend $890,000 for another NAS study to review the same exact scientific evidence is an unnecessary redundant exercise and a waste of taxpayers' money.

Workplace ergonomic hazards continue to injure and cripple more than 600,000 workers each year at a cost of $20 billion. It's time for opponents of an ergonomics standard to stop waging a political war and for all employers to put in place needed ergonomic control measures. It's time to let OSHA—the agency responsible for protecting worker safety and health—do its job and issue an ergonomics standard to prevent disabling injuries and illnesses.

For more information or talking points on the ergonomics issue, contact the AFL-CIO Department of Safety and Health (202-637-5366) or Department of Legislation (202-637-5084).