Musculoskeletal disorders – painful and expensive

Musculoskeletal disorders  (MSD)  cause considerable  harm,  pain,  and deficiency in functional  capacity. More  than  400  million people  worldwide  suffer  from  various MSD problems. Musculoskeletal  disorders  are a significant   national   health  and  economy problem also in Finland. More than a million Finns have musculoskeletal symptoms. 

In  Finland  musculoskeletal  disorders  are 

the  most  common  reason  for seeking  
    medical  advice  and  the  second   most 
    common  cause  of  disability  pension

a  disease  group  causing  the   second  
    most  frequent  loss  of labour input – the 
    annual costs rising up to approx. € 2 
    billion

the direct costs arising from MSDs are 
    almost € 600 million annually

The reduction of accidents and physical load of work, and the increase of versatility in the diet  have  reduced  some   musculoskeletal problems of Finns, but the  transformation of the society and the working  life  has  its  flip side: small amount of physical exercise, static work, smoking and overweight increase musculoskeletal   symptoms.   Even   school pupils have neck pains. For some of them the pains become chronic during teenage.

Musculoskeletal   disorders  such  as  osteo-
arthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and  osteoporo-
sis  may  result  in artificial  joint surgery.The number   of  artificial  hip and knee joint opera-
tions,   which   have   the   biggest   effect  on functional   capacity,   is   more   than  10,000 annually. The annual costs of all  artificial joint operations are approx. € 200 million