Repetitive strain injury (RSI) still blights British workers
Published: 23 Feb 2009
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) is calling on the Government to encourage employers to do more to prevent and reduce repetitive strain injury (RSI) amongst British workers.
The call comes as the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that 213,000 (1) people in work had a musculoskeletal upper limb or neck disorder that was caused or made worse by work in 2007/08.
The HSE figures show there has been little progress in tackling the problem of RSI in the last six years. Of the figures for 2007/8 over a third (81,000) were new cases, compared with a similar figure of 87,000 people in 2001/02 (2), when 222,000 people in work were found to be suffering with RSI (1).
Currently, employers have a legal duty to prevent the occurrence of risks of injury or illness, which are reasonably foreseeable in relation to their employees. However, the latest statistics suggest preventative action to reduce the risk of RSI is still lacking, causing many thousands of workers to develop this debilitating condition. Physiotherapists can play a key role in keeping people in work and getting people back to work, and can advise on the prevention of work related health problems such as RSI.
Despite the well-proven business case of providing occupational health services (B), it seems to be a low priority with many employers. Only 12.5 per cent of employers provide rehabilitation services (ABI 2005) and as few as 6.5 per cent of small businesses provide any access to occupational health services for their employees (Carter 2006). But it is a big worry to workers – a recent TUC survey found that 40 per cent of workers felt RSI was a safety concern.
RSI costs employers around £300 million per year in lost working time, sick pay and administration. An estimated 2.8 million working days were lost in 2007-08 due to RSI, with on average each person affected taking 13.3 days off sick (see Note 2). However, RSI is usually preventable or treatable with help from a physiotherapist.
The CSP is calling on Government to:- make the provision of occupational health services a statutory duty upon employers
- promote the business and social case of providing occupational health services, with a particular emphasis on the effectiveness of early intervention
- provide incentives to employers, such as tax relief, on the provision of occupational health services
‘There is a clear opportunity for employers to do more to provide occupational health services both with regard to prevention of RSI and rehabilitation. The CSP is calling on the Government to both encourage and enforce measures to address this with legislation, combined with incentives and best practice guidance. We may then, after the frustration of many years of no progress, begin to see some reduction in the rates of this almost completely preventable condition.A free fact sheet on how to avoid repetitive strain injuries is available on this website: www.csp.org.uk/rsi Health and Safety Executive figures analysed by the Labour Research Department for the CSP show that the jobs where workers are most likely to develop a musculoskeletal disorder caused or made worse by work, mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck, such as RSI (3) are:
‘The Government’s welfare reform proposals include important measures to support staff returning to work after health problems, such as RSI, through rehabilitation services such as physiotherapy. The CSP fully supports these initiatives but argues more needs to be done to prevent RSI from occurring in the first place and, if it does occur, to provide early intervention treatments to prevent the problem getting so bad people have to stop work altogether.’
- Process, plant and machine operatives (1.21 per 100 workers),
- Skilled construction and building trades (1.14 per 100 workers)
- Health and social welfare associate professionals (1.10 per 100 workers)
There are also some significant regional variations in the latest regional figures, which cover 2006/07 (4).
The South West, previously ranked eighth out of the nine regions in England at 0.7 people per 100 workers, has almost doubled and now has the highest rate of musculoskeletal disorders caused or made worse by work, mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck, at 1.31 per 100 workers.
The next highest rate is in the West Midlands with 1.24 people per every 100 workers affected. The South East has the lowest rate at 0.69 people per every 100 workers.
Ends
For further media information please contact the CSP press office on 020 7306 6616/6621/6628 (out of hours mobile: 07786 332 197) or Ann Stirling on 01273 202980 (mobile: 07939 153513).
Tables Appendix
(1) Overall rates
Estimated prevalence and rates of musculoskeletal disorders caused or made worse by work, mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck, for people working in GB in the last 12 months
| Year | Estimated prevalence | Rate per 100 employed in last 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2001/02 | 222,000 | 0.78 |
| 2003/04 | 259,000 | 0.90 |
| 2004/05 | 217,000 | 0.75 |
| 2005/06 | 213,000 | 0.73 |
| 2006/07 | 263,000 | 0.90 |
| 2007/08 | 213,000 | 0.70 |
(2) New cases
Estimated incidence and rates of musculoskeletal disorders caused or made worse by work, mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck, for people working in the last 12 months
| Year | Estimated prevalence | Rate per 100 employed in last 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2001/02 | 87,000 | 0.30 |
| 2003/04 | 90,000 | 0.31 |
| 2004/05 | 85,000 | 0.29 |
| 2005/06 | 78,000 | 0.27 |
| 2006/07 | 107,000 | 0.37 |
| 2007/08 | 81,000 | 0.27 |
(3) By occupation
Estimated prevalence and rates of self-reported musculoskeletal disorders mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck caused or made worse by current or most recent job, by occupation, for people working in the last 12 months, averaged 2004/05-2006/07.
| Occupation description | Rate per 100 employed in last 12 months | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 1.21 | 13,000 |
| Skilled construction and building trades | 1.14 | 13,000 |
| Health and social welfare associate professionals | 1.10 | 12,000 |
| Textiles, printing and other skilled trades | 0.92 | 5,000 |
| Culture, media and sports occupations | 0.88 | 12,000 |
| Leisure and other personal service occupations | 0.80 | 4,000 |
| Secretarial and related occupationsSecretarial and related occupations | 0.79 | 7,000 |
| Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives | 0.78 | 13,000 |
| Skilled metal and electrical trades | 0.77 | 9,000 |
| Science and technology associate professionals | 0.73 | 4,000 |
| All occupations | 0.79 | 231,000 |
(4) By region
Estimated prevalence and rates of self-reported musculoskeletal disorders mainly affecting the upper limbs or neck, caused or made worse by work, by country and government office region within England, for people ever employed (SWI 06/07).
| Government office region | Rate per 100 ever employed | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 1.31 | 51,000 |
| West Midlands | 1.24 | 48,000 |
| North East | 1.20 | 22,000 |
| East Midlands | 1.17 | 38,000 |
| Wales | 1.13 | 25,000 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 1.13 | 25,000 |
| North West | 0.94 | 47,000 |
| Scotland | 0.93 | 36,000 |
| East | 0.82 | 35,000 |
| London | 0.80 | 41,000 |
| South East | 0.69 | 43,000 |
| England | 0.99 | 365,000 |
| Great Britain | 0.99 | 426,000 |
The business case
Physiotherapists and other allied health professionals employed by companies are in a prime position to help employees to keep healthy by enabling the individual to understand how to prevent conditions becoming long term, to reduce reoccurrence, and strategies to self manage effectively. Physiotherapy has a significant role to play in promoting good health and wellbeing especially in the areas of exercise prescription, activity management and smoking cessation, impacting across all age groups.
For example, AstraZeneca recognises that personal wellbeing is essential for employees to effectively build the company’s innovation and creativity. (HSE 2007b) In 2000 it started its ‘Wellbeing in AstraZeneca’ programme for its 10,000 staff in the UK. Through the provision of rehabilitation and treatment services such as physiotherapy, and promoting healthy lifestyles with access to sports facilities and health screening, the company has saved £200,000 a year in health insurance spend and absence levels are 31% lower than average levels.
Notes to editors
- Further information on RSI and how to find a physiotherapist to help prevent and/or treat RSI is available from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). The CSP is the professional, educational and trade union body for the UK's 48,000 chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and assistants. Please call 0207 306 6666.
- RSI is a general term, rather than a medical diagnosis, that covers a range of conditions known as work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD) that can result in pain, sometimes very severe, in the limbs, fingers, wrists, forearms, neck and shoulders. Any activity that involves prolonged maintenance of awkward or static postures, high rates of repetition or exertion of force can mean there is a risk of developing WRULD or RSI. Information on the number of lost working days can be found in HSE Table SWIT1 - 2007/08. In 1995/96 HSE estimated the cost of upper limb disorders at between £208 and £221 million per year. Allowing for inflation, these figures would now be between £285 million and £304 million.
- Breakdowns by occupation and region are not yet available for 2007/8. The most recent HSE figures for GB available are for 2006/07. Full details on the HSE web site www.hse.gov.uk.
- The Hazards Campaign (www.hazards.org/strains) and charity RSI Action (http://rsiaction.org.uk) have information and resources available on RSI. International RSI Awareness Day takes place on the last day of February each year.
- Research references alphabetically ordered:
- Association of British Insurers (ABI). 2005 Improving health at work: (UK) Employers attitudes to Occupational Health. London: Association of British Insurers.
- Carter S, Mason C, Tag S. (2006) Lifting the barriers to growth in UK small businesses. The FSB biennial membership survey, 2006. Stirling: University of Stirling.
- Health and Safety Executive. (HSE) (2007b) The business benefits of health and safety – case studies. Sudbury: Health and Safety Executive. Available on the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk/businessbenefits/ (accessed 28 November 2007)
- TUC biennial survey of safety representatives October 2008
Related Documents
Information on how to avoid repetitive strain injuries (
104 KB PDF file)- Information on physiotherapy services for employers (
100 KB PDF file)
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