Musculoskeletal injuries are one of the most common causes of injury at work. In 2019 – 20, over half of all serious workers’ compensation claims were for traumatic injuries of the joints, ligaments, muscles or tendons (38%), or for other musculoskeletal conditions (18%).
Musculoskeletal Disorders or MSDs are an injury or disease of the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is made up of muscles, bones, joints and connective tissues.
MSD may include:
MSD can happen:
This could include tasks like restraining live animals or sorting objects on a conveyor belt. The workplace vibration guidance material has more information on managing vibration and its risks.
Hazards can come from:
You should do a risk assessment for all manual tasks you think may be hazardous.
Your risk assessment of manual tasks will identify:
The links below should be able to assist you in Identifying any Hazardous Manual Task in your work area and the best and suitable ways of either eliminating or minimising them.