Work-related upper extremities musculoskeletal disorders

Work-related upper extremities musculoskeletal disorders (UE-MSDs) constitute a heterogeneous group of affections which pain is generally the most obvious expression. UE-MSDs are very wide-spread in most of the industrialized countries and represent the first occupational disease recognized in France by the insurance system. Various mechanisms participate in their development. They are mechanical, vascular, metabolic, humoral, inflammatory, neurological. These mechanisms interact permanently, creating feedback loops which strengthen each other. The occupational risk factors are biomechanical, psychosocial and in connection with organizational determiners. Their sustainable prevention bases on an approach which leans on three fundamental principles : it takes into account the diversity of UE-MSDs risk factors, it encourages the participation of actors at every hierarchical and functional level of the company, reflecting the different jobs done in order to benefit from skills and knowledge of these internal actors to the company, it associates healthcare professionals so as to favor the co-construction of prevention initiatives adapted to the singular context of the company and favorable to the emergence of a real corporate culture regarding prevention of UE-MSDs.