Occupational and individual risk factors for shoulder-neck complaints: Part II — The scientific basis (literature review) for the guide

Abstract

This chapter discusses the scientific basis of occupational and individual risk factors for shoulder-neck complaints. Shoulder–neck complaints suspected to be work-related may belong to a number of different diagnoses such as tension neck syndrome, rotator cuff tendinitis, thoracic outlet syndrome, shoulder joint osteoarthrosis, cervical syndrome, bicipital tendinitis, and cervical spondylosis. The risk factors for shoulder-neck problems are based on physical exposure/chronic effect and individual factor/chronic effect relationships. Direct exposure measurements at the workplace should be included to obtain a valid description of exposure–effect relationships. The exposure–effect relationships may be influenced by individual factors such as sex and age, anthropometry, muscle strength, muscle endurance, smoking, psychological factors, ethnic group/nationality, productivity, spare time activity, work technique, and social class. The relationship between daily exposure to monotonous work and shoulder–neck complaints may also be influenced by several factors such as workstation design, work intensity, work technique, psychosocial work environment, psychological factors/personality, distribution of rest pauses and alternative tasks during the working day, and exposure during the alternative tasks.