Repetitive work in a dairy factory and elbow musculoskeletal disorders: Incidence, prevalence and methods for disease validation

Abstract

The elbow is an essential joint for movement of the hand and forearm. The functionality of the upper extremity relies on elbow motion. So, the involvement of elbow in working postures is naturally high in reported occupations and work environments like food manufacturing. As consequence, the risks for the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) in this area increase considerably. The risk factors are intensified due to repetitive tasks and long working hours with few breaks. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and incidence of elbow WRMSD, as well the establishment of validation methods of elbow disease, in a factory dairy products. The company has a total of 620 employees and the study was carried out between 2010 and 2014 among the 166 workers belonging to the cheese sector. Two evaluations were done, one in 2011/2012 and another in 2013/2014 and a total of 134 respondents (80,7 %) were evaluated in both. Elbow WRMSD prevalence rates achieved by self-reported symptoms, clinical evaluation and imaging, in both evaluation periods, varied between 8% and 16%. with Respect to the incidence rates of elbow WRMSD from the first to the second evaluation, the values found varied between 5% and 12%, depending of the assessment. Regarding the elbow disease validation methods, three validation methods were defined, varying the criteria sensivity and specificity. The results of this study emphasize the importance of joint evaluation of outcomes of different assessment methods.