Musculoskeletal Disorders

Book excerpt: Musculoskeletal Disorders Hands-on guidance and tools for the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace In Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Fatigue Failure Mechanism, a team of accomplished occupational health experts delivers an essential and incisive discussion of how musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) develop and progress, as well as how they can be prevented and controlled. Offering a novel, evidence-based approach to this costly problem, the book has broad implications for employers, insurers, and other stakeholders in workplace health and safety. The authors identify new risk assessment approaches based on the cumulative effects of exposure to highly variable loading conditions. These new approaches can also be applied to evaluate the efficacy of job rotation scenarios and to quantify exoskeleton efficacy. The complexities associated with fatigue failure in biological environments are also explored in addition to suggested models for understanding how the body maintains musculoskeletal homeostasis. Readers will also find: Thorough introductions to the material properties of musculoskeletal tissues and the fundamental principles of fatigue failure analysis In-depth explorations of the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system and up-to-date epidemiological research on MSDs Comprehensive discussions of validated fatigue failure risk assessment methods, including continuous exposure assessment to better quantify injury risk Insightful treatments of remodeling and healing processes as they apply to MSD risk, as well as factors that impair the healing process, like stress, obesity, and aging Perfect for occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals, Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Fatigue Failure Mechanism will also earn a place in the libraries of ergonomists, physical therapists, biomechanists, industrial hygienists, occupational physicians, orthopedists, and musculoskeletal disorder researchers.