Occupational strain and appearance of musculo skeletal attrition in bricklayers in comparison with joiners and painters and decorators: a combined orthopaedic, epidemiological, occupational scientific and bio-mechanical longitudinal study

Status:

completed 06/1997

Aims:

Increased risk of spine, joint and tendon disorders in construction workers (and introduction of the new occupational illness list numbers 2108 and 2109). Goal: explaining the cause-effect relationship between musculo skeletal disorders and the influences of activities performed in construction work in an interdisciplinary, integrated, observational approach; determining and analysing problematic activities/working procedures; derivation and evaluation of intervention and prevention measures

Activities/Methods:

Cross-sectional study of 561 construction workers (bricklayers, painters, concrete workers, joiners): investigation of occupational case histories, past illnesses, risk factors external to the working environment; standardised orthopaedic examination with functional diagnosis, occupational medical examination with immunological tests, second cross-sectional examination after three years (480 construction workers); occupational scientific field studies to analyse characteristic work activities; more profound analysis of selected characteristic work activities in the bio-mechanics laboratory. Development of an occupational scientific inquiry instrument for the continuous determining of individual strain.

Results:

Multiple correlations provide points of main effort of prevention

Publications:

Symposium "Körperliche Belastungen und Erkrankungen im Baugewerbe" 17./18.11.1997 in Hamburg

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