Abstract
BackgroundManual handling operations (MHO) are tasks performed by hand that require repetitive and forceful hand and arm movements. MHO are currently performed in many workplaces in skilled and unskilled jobs in the production and service sectors. MHO are considered as work-related health risk factors. The relationship between MHO and the occurrence of disorders of the upper extremities has been established. MHO can cause diseases such as tenosynovitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. This study aims to assess the current prevalence of MHO in the German workforce and to evaluate the relationship between MHO and the occurrence of hand and arm complaints.MethodsThe analysis was based on the German 2018 BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey. For this analysis we included subjects aged between 16 and 66 who work at least 35 h per week. The self-reported frequency of MHO (never; rarely; sometimes; often) was considered as the exposure of interest and was stratified by gender and occupation. Prevalence ratios (PR) were used to report the relationship between MHO and self-reported pain in the hands and arms (robust log-linear Poisson regression). Adjustments were made for age, gender, actual weekly working hours, psychosocial workload, and other physical workloads. The regression analyses considered complete cases.ResultsThe analyses included 14,299 employees. Frequent MHO were reported by 32.6% of men and 31.1% of women. These workloads were often reported by respondents who work in the agricultural sector (men: 70.1%; women: 79.0%), in unskilled (men: 59.4%; women: 66.9%), and skilled manual occupations (men: 72.7%; women: 66.7%).A higher frequency of self-reported MHO was associated with a higher prevalence of hand complaints (PR 2.26 CI 2.00–2.55 “often” vs. “never” = ref.) as well as arm pain (PR 1.73 CI 1.55–1.92 for “often” vs. “never” = ref.).ConclusionMHO are still frequent in many occupations. The shown association between MHO and pain in the hands and arms demonstrates the importance of MHO in the current German workforce and the necessity to further develop prevention strategies.
Highlights
Manual handling operations (MHO) are tasks performed by hand that require repetitive and forceful hand and arm movements
The shown association between manual handling operations (MHO) and pain in the hands and arms demonstrates the importance of MHO in the current German workforce and the necessity to further develop prevention strategies
This study aimed to describe the self-reported prevalence of exposure to manual handling operations in the current German workforce based on the 2018 Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)/Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) Employment Survey and to investigate the relationship between the intensity of manual handling operations and the prevalence of pain in the hands and arms to estimate the current percentage of pain prevalence attributable to MHO
Summary
Manual handling operations (MHO) are tasks performed by hand that require repetitive and forceful hand and arm movements. The relationship between work-related manual handling operations (MHO) and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders in the hands and forearms is well established [1,2,3]. MHO are described as tasks performed by hand, which includes work activities that demand manual skills; highly repetitive sequences of hand and arm movement; and/or operations that require high degrees of hand and arm force [4]. MHO are characterized by a repetitive as well as static strain of the muscles and ligamental structures The strain these tasks place on the body depends on the intensity of the required effort, the range of motion as well as the duration and frequency of the movements. A similar percentage stated that MHO made up 25 to 75% of their working time
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