Types of Musculoskeletal Disorders: Know How to Manage Them

Do you think only accidents or impacts alone can cause injuries to the human body? Then you’re off-base. Even repetitive stress or overuse of your body parts could spawn disabilities in your body. The so-called injuries to your muscles and skeletal system are known as musculoskeletal impairments.

What are musculoskeletal disorders?/ What parts of the body can be affected by this condition?

Musculoskeletal disorders are defined as injuries or impairments to the musculoskeletal system of the human body, like muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, spinal discs, and blood vessels. In short, they are diseases of the joints and muscles.

Research by the Global Burden of Disease in 2017 revealed that around 1.3 billion cases of musculoskeletal impairments were reported worldwide from 1990 to 2017. Among these cases, 121,000 people lost their lives, and 138.7 million people were destined to lead their lives in disability due to repetitive motion injuries or impairments.

The cost of treating significant musculoskeletal injuries, which sometimes entail long-term pain and impairment, is much higher than for the treatment of many other prevalent health conditions. Due to this, the burden of musculoskeletal diseases in the United States is also getting bigger every year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts annual surveys on injuries and illnesses. BLS has found that musculoskeletal disorders are the single largest category of injuries and illnesses under occupational diseases in the U.S. In 2011, U.S. companies expended around 50 billion dollars on MSDs for their employees.

What are the Different Types of Musculoskeletal Disorders?

There are more than 150 types of musculoskeletal disorders categorized. Do you know, which of the following is a common muscular disorder? Let’s go through a few on the musculoskeletal disorders list in this article to know that.

Arthritis: The wear and tear, swelling, pain, infection, and tenderness in the joints are known as arthritis. There are different kinds of arthritis, such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, and Psoriatic Arthritis. This disease condition is degenerative and age-related.

Osteoporosis: Due to the loss of muscle tissues, hormonal changes, or deficiency of vitamins, bones become weak and brittle. Once they become fragile, they tend to break easily. This condition is named Osteoporosis.

Ankylosing Spondylitis: Reduction of flexibility due to the eventual fusing of small bones in the spine is Ankylosing spondylitis. This loss of flexibility will make the spine bend forward. This is a kind of inflammatory disease mainly found in men.

Annular Tears: The ligaments connecting the vertebra and discs weaken and tear the annulus fibrosus. This will, in a way, lead to disc herniations.

Disc Herniations: When the jelly-like disc nucleus protrudes through the tear in the annulus of the spine, it dislocates the disc and affects the spinal cord.

Carpal, Cubital, and Radial Tunnel Syndromes: If the median, ulnar, and radial nerves are pinched while passing through the arm and wrist, they will cause Carpal, Cubital, and Radial syndromes, respectively. These cause pain, numbness, and tingling in the arm, elbow, and hand.

Tendinitis or Tendonitis: Is tendonitis a musculoskeletal disorder? Of course, it is. Due to repetitive stress, tear or degeneration can occur in the tendons. Aging and overuse make the tendons less flexible and weak. When the tendons are affected, they will react with inflammation. This will result in severe pain.

Rotator Cuff Injuries: The tear in the tissues connecting the rotator cuff joints occurs when the shoulder joints face overexertion or heavy impacts.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: It occurs when the nerves and blood vessels located between the collarbone and the first rib become compressed, causing pain, numbness, or weakness in the shoulder, neck, and fingers, as well as a reduction in finger grip strength.

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: Repetitive wrist and hand stress can cause inflammation of the thumb tendons and excruciating wrist pain. If left untreated, it will affect the wrist’s range of motion and cause the inability to use the hands. It is one of the common musculoskeletal system disorders that affect people who do most of their work with their hands, like doing overhead work.

Tennis Elbow: Lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, is a condition that occurs on the outside of the elbow as a result of a repetitive motion to the elbow, such as that seen in tennis players. It would occasionally cause pain in the arm and wrist. It doesn’t just affect athletes; it can happen to anyone who puts repetitive strain on their elbow, arm, or wrist.

Bursitis: A bursa is a sac-like structure found in all major joints that contains fluids to reduce friction. It ensures that the joints move smoothly. These bursae can become inflamed as a result of stress, causing pain in the joints during movement. This is known as bursitis. Bursitis can manifest itself in the shoulders, hips, elbows, and knees.

Golfer’s Elbow: Unlike tennis elbow, the golfer’s elbow occurs on the inside of the elbow. Excessive strain on the wrist, arm and elbow can result in pain in the tendons of the forearm muscles. Any delay in treatment may limit the range of motion in your elbow.

Achilles Tendinopathy: It occurs when the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, becomes inflamed. Achilles tendinopathy is a condition that causes pain, inflammation, and weakness in the Achilles tendon. Athletes, particularly runners, are susceptible to this condition.

Plantar Fasciitis: It occurs when the band of tissues that connects the heel to the toes becomes inflamed, causing sharp pain in the heel. This stabbing pain can be caused by repetitive stress on the sole’s ligaments.

Developmental Dysplasia (DDH): DDH can occur in neonates and children when the ball and socket joints of the hip fail to attach properly to the hip joint. DDH in infants can be caused by congenital disorders, multiple pregnancies, breech delivery, and other factors.

Tension neck syndrome: Pain, numbness, and stiffness in the neck can result from tension in the neck muscles, and it can sometimes radiate to the shoulders, upper back, and arms. Stretching the arms and neck may help to relieve tension.

Plantar Digital Neuritis: Also known as metatarsalgia, it is an inflammation that occurs between the third and fourth interdigital nerve heads. It causes intermittent foot pain and cramping. It is also known as Morton neuroma or interdigital neuroma.

Some of the bone and muscle diseases could be musculoskeletal deformities or musculoskeletal dysfunction from birth.

Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal syndromes occur due to degeneration, congenital disease or overuse. Different musculoskeletal disorders types can be caused by various factors. Let’s analyze musculoskeletal system diseases and disorders in detail.

Overuse injuries in daily life or occupation: Repetitive stress given to body parts such as the neck, shoulders, arms, or lower limbs for a prolonged period could render deterioration of ligaments or muscles. A sportsperson or a person who does interminable heavy manual work is susceptible to such injuries. These inflammatory musculoskeletal problems can affect routine activities too.

Poor posture: Not maintaining an appropriate posture can affect the normal curve of the spine. People sitting with a slouched posture at home or work or bending down to work on a computer can affect the spine as the weight distribution is improper. Giving weight to only one leg while standing and lifting heavy objects from the ground by putting pressure on the back are all incorrect postures. In the modern world, people have more machines to do most of the work. Lack of physical work and a desk-bound lifestyle determine posture-related health issues.

Old age: Older people tend to have degenerative bones or disc problems like arthritis. Arthritis is one of the major degenerative musculoskeletal issues that stands out as the reason for major hospitalizations. The musculoskeletal disorders in the elderly will make them bound to bed forever.

Immobilization of limbs for a long time: When upper limbs are under the cast for a prolonged time after fractures, there could be flexibility issues in the joints and limbs. Even in older people, even if they are cured of fractures, the fear of getting pain may prevent them from actively moving their limbs. This will also cause musculoskeletal disorders.

Motor vehicle accidents: Musculoskeletal injuries are inseparable parts of auto accidents. The heavy impacts would generate injuries and fractures to the skeletal system and soft tissue injuries to the muscles. These injuries require extensive treatments, long recuperation times, and keeping people away from normal activities.

Slip and falls: Slips, trips, or falls could lead to severe fractures or soft tissue injuries to the muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Slip and fall injuries would be dangerous to everyone, especially kids and older people.

Improper exercise: Exercising is inevitable to gain a healthy body. However, if one attempts unsuitable exercise types to overexert oneself without knowing one’s physical conditions, it could injure the soft tissues. Expert advice should be sought before embarking on any exercise.

Workplace accidents: Accidents or mishaps at workplaces, like in the construction field or working at height and with heavy objects, are possible factors in work-related accidents. Exposure to poisonous chemicals in the absence of protective garments is also a cause for such occupational mishaps leading to musculoskeletal impairments.

In general, these diseases of the tendons and ligaments are influenced by the individual’s age, occupation, activities, trauma, heredity, and lifestyle. The effects of musculoskeletal disease can have a great impact on an individual’s daily activities.

Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders

According to the data collected by the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) on days away from work (DAFW), MSD cases are the sole reason for around 30 percent of employees’ days away from work. Laborers working on freight, stock and material movers, nursing assistants, and drivers of heavy trucks have taken more DAFWs due to musculoskeletal disabilities.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are also known as work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WRMI). These injuries cause a considerable number of employees to be away from work for a long time. Most people suffer inflammation due to overexertion of work-related duties, exacerbating painful symptoms.

When employees stay away from work, it results in a loss of income for the employees and a loss of productivity for U.S. companies. In the U.S., every year, around 2 million workers undergo WMSDs, and around 600,000 workers lose time from work.

What parts of the body can be affected by musculoskeletal disorders? The overuse of the upper extremities in work situations generates damage and inflammation to the shoulders, neck, elbows, wrists, and hands; the repetitive stress to the lower extremities results in muscular disorders in the lower back or lower limb.

The situations that increase the morbidity rate in industries and the construction field are

• Poor posture
• Continuous lifting of heavy things
• Repetitive and intensive work
• Exposure to extreme temperatures and chemicals
• Constant use of vibrating machinery

In healthcare field, the nursing assistants and other workers are also exposed to intensive and stressful work like lifting invalid patients or equipment, reacting to unexpected movements, continuous shifts without any break due to an inadequate workforce, etc.

Psychosocial factors like work pressure, job demand, less job satisfaction, lack of support from society, less job control, and boring jobs are also reasons for musculoskeletal disorders.

Delayed diagnosis of repetitive stress injuries will result in prolonged time away from work, loss of income, loss of job, more medical expenses, unnecessary invasive procedures, mental agony, etc. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are having an impact both on employees and employers.

Symptoms

Musculoskeletal pain will be different for each one based on the cause. There may be entire body pain for some people, as if they are completely beaten up. The following are the common symptoms people will have:

• Recurrent pain
• Stiffness
• Dull pain
• Redness
• Swelling or edema
• Muscle weakness

Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Nobody can suspect musculoskeletal impairment all of a sudden. Never overlook the pain and discomfort in the initial stage. Joint pains and stiffness of muscles and joints are wake-up calls for something critical in store. Availing of an expert physician’s consultation will definitely save you from further damage. Well-experienced clinicians palpate the area of pain to locate and diagnose the issues. They will gather the patient’s past medical history and symptoms. They will correlate the physical examination findings with prior treatments and symptoms.

The next step taken is to assess the musculoskeletal disorders symptoms and compare them with the X-ray studies done. More extensive diagnostic studies like blood tests, arthroscopy, ultrasonography, nerve conduction studies, CT scans, and MRI scans will be ordered to know the exact location and cause of muscular pains. When the acute cause and injuries are located, the physicians will go forward with their treatment plans.

Musculoskeletal Disorders Treatment

Based on the type of musculoskeletal disability, treatment will be planned. Milder pain can be relieved by home treatments like hot or cold therapy, over-the-counter medications, stretching exercises, stress relief therapies, weight reduction, posture correction therapies, and complete rest.

Non-invasive treatments can heal some injuries. They are

• Acupuncture
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• Splints

More extensive and invasive treatments like the ones listed below will be needed when the injuries become severe.

• Corticosteroid injections
• Surgeries

Home Remedies for Musculoskeletal Disorders

Some of the natural remedies used for inflammation can also help treat musculoskeletal disabilities. Many of those herbs are available in our kitchen. Let’s go through a few of them here.

Turmeric: Turmeric was utilized by our forefathers to alleviate inflammation. It functions as a natural anti-inflammatory agent due to its high antioxidant capabilities. Turmeric contains curcumin, which has anti-cancer properties and can also be used to treat arthritis. Turmeric taken with food on a daily basis can help protect us from musculoskeletal diseases caused by inflammation.

Ginger: Ginger, which is often used in our cooking, is high in antioxidants and provides immunonutrition, which helps to reduce inflammation. It is thought to have helped those with osteoarthritis and rheumatism.

Willow barks: Willow barks contain a molecule called salicin, which has characteristics similar to acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin contains acetylsalicylic acid, which acts as an anti-inflammatory. The flavonoids in the bark have anti-inflammatory properties. As opposed to synthetic aspirin, willow bark has no negative effects because it is botanical. It has no effect on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract or blood coagulation.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3 fatty acids are fatty acids naturally present in foods such as fish, vegetables, and nuts. Omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found in fish, while alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is found in plants. These fatty acids have anti-inflammatory qualities as well as a slew of other advantages.

Devil’s Claw: Devil’s Claw is a plant that grows wild in Africa. It is utilized by the indigenous people to cure osteoarthritis. Iridoid glycosides are an anti-inflammatory component. Devil’s claw contains a high concentration of harpagoside, which has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation.

Thunder god vine: Thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii) is used to treat inflammatory bowel illness, kidney issues, and rheumatoid arthritis by people in Taiwan, China, Japan, and Korea. It contains anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties.

How to Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal impairments can be prevented from happening by following the given techniques. At workplaces, people should have

• Better work environments
• Rest the body and mind
• Knowledge to handle the work pressure
• Training to protect oneself from injuries
• Smart work techniques
• Protective equipment
• Stretching exercises

Extreme care and attention should be taken at home and other places while involved in day-to-day activities. Staying away from smoking or drug and alcohol usage could also save you from musculoskeletal injuries. Maintain a straight posture while sitting or standing. Know not to overexert one’s body.

To wrap up,

Musculoskeletal disorders are the major reason for disabilities and impairments in most people who seek medical assistance. The disorders of musculoskeletal system should not be overlooked. Neglecting musculoskeletal pain symptoms in the initial stages can lead to unprecedented health issues in the future.

Whatever the reason, knowledge to handle work equipment efficiently, intelligence to work smartly without injuring oneself, and adequate rest are essential to avoiding overexertion injuries.

Not to injure themselves or be away from illnesses and disorders; human beings cannot stay away from work or be active. Technology is improving at rocket speed. Innovations are made to reduce the work pressure on human beings. With modern machinery and equipment, let’s learn to work smartly and intelligently.