Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Healthcare Professions
Summary
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) represent one of the most pervasive occupational health challenges facing healthcare professionals worldwide. Characterised by pain, stiffness or functional impairment affecting muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, these disorders arise from a combination of repetitive movements, awkward postures, sustained static loading and manual handling of patients and equipment. Nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and operating-room staff report particularly high rates of low back, neck and shoulder complaints, with prevalence estimates often exceeding 70 per cent over a 12-month period. Beyond chronic pain and reduced quality of life, WMSDs contribute to absenteeism, early career departure and increased healthcare costs. Recent advances emphasise the importance of biomechanical assessment, sensor-based monitoring and psychometric risk assessment to inform ergonomic redesign, targeted training and individualised prevention strategies. The global significance of this burden has prompted cross-disciplinary collaborations between occupational health, biomechanics, rehabilitation engineering and human factors specialists, with the ultimate aim of translating robust research findings into practical interventions that safeguard the health and longevity of healthcare workforces.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of functional performance tests to predict occupational risk in nursing. In a cross-sectional pilot investigation, chair-squat performance was evaluated through kinetic and electromyographic analysis to determine its utility as a predictor of nurses’ capacity for ergonomic patient transfers. Participants completed repeated chair squats and simulated supine-to-lateral patient repositioning tasks, allowing comparison of joint torques and muscle activation patterns. Findings revealed that asymmetries in lower-limb and trunk muscle activity during squat trials corresponded to compensatory movement strategies and increased torsional loads on the sacroiliac joints during caregiving manoeuvres. A predictive model achieved 73 per cent accuracy in identifying those at elevated risk of suboptimal transfer mechanics. This approach exemplifies how simple functional assessments, combined with biomechanical profiling, can inform the design of tailored exercise programmes and workplace training aimed at reducing the incidence of WMSDs in healthcare settings.
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Healthcare Professions publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in work-related musculoskeletal disorders in healthcare professions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs): Conditions affecting muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints caused or exacerbated by occupational activities such as lifting, bending and repetitive motions.
Ergonomics: The scientific discipline concerned with the interaction between humans and elements of a system, aiming to optimise well-being and overall system performance.
Manual handling: The transport or support of a load by hand or bodily force, including patient transfers, which can generate significant biomechanical stress.
Inertial measurement unit (IMU): A wearable sensor combining accelerometers and gyroscopes to track movement kinematics in three dimensions.
Electromyography (EMG): A technique for recording electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles, used to assess muscle recruitment and fatigue patterns during tasks.
References
- Chair squat performance as a potential predictor of nurses’ physical capabilities in ergonomic patient transfers. Scientific Reports (2023).
- Environmental Risk Assessment of Low Back Pain in ICU Nurses: An Instrument Development Study. Journal of Nursing Management (2023).
- Biomechanical evaluation of midwifery tasks and its relationship with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Heliyon (2023).
- Framework Using Multicriteria Analysis for Evaluating the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders. Sensors (2025).
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