For 10 years in France, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have increased by 20% per year to now represent more than 70% of professional diseases recognized. Often generated by bad habits or working postures, MSDs can quickly become very painful on a daily basis. They are even the leading cause of lost working days due to work stoppages, according to Public health France.
Musculoskeletal disorders affect the muscles, tendons and nerves of all limbs. The joints affected are numerous: the hand, the fingers, the wrist, the elbow, the shoulder, the knee, the ankle and the foot. “About one in 10 workers would be affected by this pain, often caused by repetition of movements dailies. The consultations for which MSDs are the cause are numerous” explains Sophie Ravel de Verdun, chiropractor in Paris.
What causes MSDs?
“MSDs are generally caused by repetitive poor postures, falls, manual handling, or excessively heavy loads, and shake the fragile edifice of the skeletal structure, causing more or less disabling pain: tingling, numbness, localized pain “ adds the chiro.
Among the most common MSDs are:
- the low back pain (lower back pain)
- the neck pain (neck pain)
- the carpal tunnel syndrome at wrist
- shoulder rotator cuff syndrome
- lateral epicondylitis at the elbow.
These pains are overuse injuries caused by the rapid and repeated use of muscles and joints. Untreated, they alter the quality of life and can go as far as the interruption of professional activity.
Which professions are affected by MSDs?
“These disorders do not only affect those who have a job considered “difficult”. Office workers, hairdressers or nurses are also among the people who come to consult for MSDs” adds Audrey Yargui, chiropractor in Suresnes and vice-president of the French Chiropractic Association.
• Hairdressers. They are confronted daily with bad postures that are sometimes uncomfortable and with the frequency of repetitive gestures: keeping their arms raised above shoulder height, bending or twisting their wrists, having their backs or neck bent forward, holding the hair dryer in the air. They may suffer from disabling osteoarticular pathologies.
• The nurses. Lifting the patient and helping him to move around, repetitive movements carried out at a sustained pace and the intensification of work, contribute to the appearance of MSDs. The shoulders, the neck, the back, the knees, the feet are the sensitive parts which are often the reasons for frequent complaints.
• Gardeners. During hedge trimming, soil preparation or planting work: these strenuous and repetitive positions put a strain on the back and the joints. “These professional constraints contribute to the appearance of disorders and lesions of the spine, peri-articular conditions causing pain in the wrists (carpal tunnel syndrome), elbows (epicondylitis of the waist, epitrochleitis of the rakings), shoulders (type tendinitis) and trauma such as sprains” says the vice-president of the French Chiropractic Association.
• Cashiers. Reaching and lifting the items, repeating the gestures all day, exposes checkout attendants to pain affecting several areas: in the neck, shoulder, elbow, back and wrist (low back pain, neck pain, epicondylitis, carpal syndrome…).
• In the office. “The famous carpal tunnel syndrome perfectly illustrates the types of pain frequently encountered by jobs related to office automation. But it is not only this syndrome that affects computer users. Sitting for long periods in front of a computer and poor postures can damage muscles, tendons and nerves and be the cause of MSDs, revealing new ways of working, often sedentary” insists Sophie Ravel De Verdun.
What will the chiropractor do?
To relieve musculoskeletal disorders and correct dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system, the chiropractor uses his hands. These “manipulations” are brief and dry maneuvers performed at the level of a joint in order to allow it to regain its mobility. The chiropractor also works to relax and treat tense and sore muscles.
“For the return to work, chiropractors also provide postural advice (how to sit, walk, etc.) to limit tension” explains Audrey Yargui.
More and more chiropractors are also working in synergy with ergonomists to prevent the reappearance of MSDs. The ergonomist will not intervene on the pathology but he will look, at the request of the occupational medicine or human resources of a company, on the workstation at the origin of the pathology.
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