Musculoskeletal DisordersHands-on guidance and tools for the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in the workplaceIn Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Fatigue Failure Mechanism, a team of accomplished occupational health experts delivers an essential and incisive discussion of how musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) develop and progress, as well as how they can be prevented and controlled. Offering a novel, evidence-based approach to this costly problem, the book has broad implications for employers, insurers, and other stakeholders in workplace health and safety.The authors identify new risk assessment approaches based on the cumulative effects of exposure to highly variable loading conditions. These new approaches can also be applied to evaluate the efficacy of job rotation scenarios and to quantify exoskeleton efficacy. The complexities associated with fatigue failure in biological environments are also explored in addition to suggested models for understanding how the body maintains musculoskeletal homeostasis.Readers will also find:* Thorough introductions to the material properties of musculoskeletal tissues and the fundamental principles of fatigue failure analysis* In-depth explorations of the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system and up-to-date epidemiological research on MSDs* Comprehensive discussions of validated fatigue failure risk assessment methods, including continuous exposure assessment to better quantify injury risk* Insightful treatments of remodeling and healing processes as they apply to MSD risk, as well as factors that impair the healing process, like stress, obesity, and agingPerfect for occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals, Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Fatigue Failure Mechanism will also earn a place in the libraries of ergonomists, physical therapists, biomechanists, industrial hygienists, occupational physicians, orthopedists, and musculoskeletal disorder researchers.

PrefaceAcknowledgementsAuthor the Editors1. Introduction2. Common Musculoskeletal Disorders3. Structure and Function of The Musculoskeletal System4. Structure and Function of the Nervous System, and Its Relation to Pain5. Fundamental Biomechanics Concepts6. Material Properties of Musculoskeletal and Peripheral Nerve Tissues7. Fatigue Failure of Musculoskeletal Tissues8. MSDs as a fatigue failure process9. Fundamentals of Fatigue Failure Analysis10. Fatigue failure in a biological environment11. Injury and Self-Repair of Musculoskeletal Tissues12. Personal Characteristics and MSD Risk13. Using Fatigue Failure Principles to Assess MSD Risk14. Implications for MSD Prevention15. Optimizing Musculoskeletal Health16. Status of knowledge and unanswered questionsIndex