Pain in the upper limb is frequent among employees with repetitive and forceful job tasks. A recent study showed a prevalence of pain in the shoulder, elbow and hand/ wrist of 60, 40 and 52%, respectively, among 645 Danish slaughterhouse workers. 38% of the workers reported work disability due to upper limb pain. Chronic pain is a combination of complex biopsychosocial factors, such as fear avoidance. Therefore, functional capacity assessments should assess biological, psychological and social factors.
Chronic upper limb pain was associated with reduced upper limb neuromuscular function, impaired work ability, work disability and general health. The biopsychosocial nature of pain must be taken into consideration when designing and implementing preventative strategies.
> From: Sundstrup et al., BMC Musculoskelet Disord 17 (2016-03-07 06:35:42) 104 . All rights reserved to The Author(s). Click here for the online summary.