English version - Fit for Work Europe

MSDs and health care professionals
• Think beyond the physical symptoms. Bring to bear your understanding of the
biopsychosocial model and the limitations of the biomedical model in your diagnosis
of the patient and – most importantly – your assessment of the role that the patient’s
job might play in helping them stay active and avoid isolation. In the absence of a GP
system, the development of an effectively linked, multifaceted medical care system is
essential for the early assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients with MSDs.
Where appropriate, patients should be able to access specialist teams as early as
practicable, to enable management of the condition to begin.
• Avoid catastrophising. A patient can hold a very negative view of the impact and likely
progression of their condition if the way that clinicians present it focuses on incapacity
rather than capacity. Clinicians should consider what the individual can still do at work,
taking into account the nature of the patient’s work capacity and pre-injury employment,
demographic characteristics, physical and psychosocial demands of the job, and job
quality.
Fit For Work? Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Japanese Labour Market 49