Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study

Occupational postures are considered to be an important group of risk factors for musculoskeletal pain. However, the exposure-outcome association is not clear yet. Therefore, we aimed to determine the exposure-outcome association of working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms. Also, we aimed to es...

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Main Authors: Coenen, Pieter, Douwes, M., van den Heuvel, S., Bosch, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40895
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author Coenen, Pieter
Douwes, M.
van den Heuvel, S.
Bosch, T.
author_facet Coenen, Pieter
Douwes, M.
van den Heuvel, S.
Bosch, T.
author_sort Coenen, Pieter
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Occupational postures are considered to be an important group of risk factors for musculoskeletal pain. However, the exposure-outcome association is not clear yet. Therefore, we aimed to determine the exposure-outcome association of working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms. Also, we aimed to establish exposure limits for working postures. In a prospective cohort study among 789 workers, intensity, frequency and duration of postures were assessed at baseline using observations. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed cross-sectionally and longitudinally and associations of postures and pain were addressed using logistic regression analyses. Cut-off points were estimated based on ROC-curve analyses. Associations were found for kneeling/crouching and low-back pain, neck flexion and rotation and neck pain, trunk flexion and low-back pain, and arm elevation and neck and shoulder pain. The results provide insight into exposure-outcome relations between working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms as well as evidence-based working posture exposure limits that can be used in future guidelines and risk assessment tools.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-408952017-09-13T14:02:52Z Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study Coenen, Pieter Douwes, M. van den Heuvel, S. Bosch, T. Occupational postures are considered to be an important group of risk factors for musculoskeletal pain. However, the exposure-outcome association is not clear yet. Therefore, we aimed to determine the exposure-outcome association of working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms. Also, we aimed to establish exposure limits for working postures. In a prospective cohort study among 789 workers, intensity, frequency and duration of postures were assessed at baseline using observations. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed cross-sectionally and longitudinally and associations of postures and pain were addressed using logistic regression analyses. Cut-off points were estimated based on ROC-curve analyses. Associations were found for kneeling/crouching and low-back pain, neck flexion and rotation and neck pain, trunk flexion and low-back pain, and arm elevation and neck and shoulder pain. The results provide insight into exposure-outcome relations between working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms as well as evidence-based working posture exposure limits that can be used in future guidelines and risk assessment tools. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40895 10.1080/00140139.2015.1130862 restricted
spellingShingle Coenen, Pieter
Douwes, M.
van den Heuvel, S.
Bosch, T.
Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title_full Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title_fullStr Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title_short Towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
title_sort towards exposure limits for working postures and musculoskeletal symptoms - a prospective cohort study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40895