FfW Bulgarian report (English language) - Fit for Work Europe

Work and MSDs in Bulgaria
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existing policies, data and capacity in relation to physical health promotion between April –
October 2011 with the intention of drafting a national action plan and implementing a national
health strategy. 17
3.3.2 The impact of the workplace on MSDs
Overall awareness of the health and safety risks related to their jobs is high amongst Bulgarian
workers with 93 per cent saying that they felt very well-informed about the risks (EWCS,
2010). At the same time, only 40 per cent of workers felt that their health and safety was at
risk because of work, and just over a third suggested that work negatively affected their health.
Whilst this figure has decreased since 2005, when 48 per cent reported that work affected their
health, it is still higher than the EU average (25 per cent).
In terms of evidence and risk factors for the impact of work on MSDs a distinction needs
to be made between ‘work-related’ disorders and ‘occupational’ disorders (Punnett and
Wegman, 2004). Certain MSDs are recognised as occupational diseases by some European
governments, such as wrist tenosynovitis, epicondylitis of the elbow, Raynaud’s syndrome
or vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome (Eurostat, 2004). Indeed, Bulgaria’s
list of occupational diseases similarly includes many such occupational diseases, therefore
demonstrating an understanding that work can cause and contribute to these conditions.
The evidence linking non-occupational MSDs and work is not conclusive and attributing cause
and effect between specific aspects of work and particular parts of the body is difficult. However,
many of the established risk factors that may contribute to the development of non-specific
MSDs can be encountered at work; even if work does not cause a condition it may have an
impact on it. Moreover, if we consider risk factors beyond the physical, then the impact of the
workplace on MSDs is likely to be much greater.
The most frequently cited risk factors for MSDs encountered in the workplace include the
following (Punnett and Wegman, 2004):
• Rapid work pace and repetitive motion patterns;
• Heavy lifting and forceful manual exertions;
• Non-neutral body postures (dynamic or static), frequent bending and twisting;
• Mechanical pressure concentrations;
• Segmental or whole body vibrations;
17 See World Health Organisation http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/disease-prevention/physicalactivity/news/news/2011/06/national-action-plan-on-physical-activity-in-bulgaria
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