Writing Fit

Steve Bevan presents the findings from the Fit for Work pan-European report.

(more…)

[18.30 Tom Ling]  An excellent final session that demonstrated, once and for all, the case for action on MSDs at a European and National level.  Now our task is to work together to find those concrete actions that will move this debate along and change the way we keep people Fit for Work!
(more…)

Muscle and joint pain costs
European economies up to €240 billion a year

New study reveals musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) responsible for more sick days than any other health condition

Brussels, 30 September 2009 – A new study today finds that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for nearly half (49%) of all absences from work and 60% of permanent work incapacity in the European Union. These and other socio-economic consequences of suffering from poor health due to muscle and joint pain represent an estimated cost to society in Europe of up to €240 billion.
(more…)

Musculoskeletal Disorders and the European Workforce: The Facts

•    Over 100 million European citizens suffer from Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (CMP) though it remains undiagnosed in up to 40 per cent of cases.
•    Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) account for a higher proportion of sickness absence from work than any other health condition – roughly half of all work-related disorders in EU member states. (more…)

Yesterday I spoke about the Fit for Work project at a conference on ‘Health and Prevention at Work’ organised by the European Confederation of            Independent Trades Unions (CESIS) in Rome. This was a great opportunity to showcase our research and debate it with people with a keen interest in workplace health and safety.
(more…)

An interesting article caught my attention in Medical News Today which was titled “Can Psychosocial Stress At Work Put At Risk Of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis?”.  It looks at a Swedish study published in one of the latest issues of ‘Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics’ which discloses new relationships between stress at work and the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
(more…)