Characteristics and Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Employees Aged 50 Years or Older

Abstract

This study concerned with the characteristics and causes of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) for employees aged 50 years or older. In order to do this, based on 8,011 accident analysis reports, we analyzed the differences of characteristics between groups under 50 years and 50 years or more in terms of gender, occupation, duration of employment, part of body, industry, size of business and work-related factors. Results show that the distributions of the injuries aged 50 years or older are statistically different from those of the injuries under 50 years. Also, older employees have high relationship between repetition, or contact stress/vibration and upper extremity MSDs. These findings can be used to develop more effective MSD prevention programs for older employees.