Women and MSD’s’ (Mar 05)

Women ‘more likely to develop MSD’s’

Women are at a much higher risk for developing an upper-body musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) than once thought, and in some instances, could be up to 11 times more likely than men to develop such injuries, say researchers at Ohio State University

“Any way you slice the data, women have a significantly higher prevalence –- anywhere from two to 10, even 11 times higher than men -- for many of these disorders,” Researchers noted in a Ohio State University press statement. “The question now is, why? Is it biomechanical, physiological, psychological, or what? Most likely, it is due to a combination of factors.”

Formerly it was believed that women might show a greater number of MSDs because they were more apt to report their injuries. But when researchers took into account age, occupation, and how the injury was reported they discovered that gender did in fact still play a role.

Additionally, they were also able to exclude the ‘type-of-work-performed’ argument when they discovered that even in identical jobs, women were still more apt than men to develop an MSD.

Researchers noted that the findings indicate that a greater focus on ergonomics, particularly in regard to the design of the workplace, work practices and tools, is currently needed to help prevent MSDs from occurring in the first place.

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