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

Work and MSDs in Bulgaria
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cases of occupational diseases in Bulgaria. It is also worth noting that the figures in Table 3.2.
show the number of people that were treated for these conditions which does not necessarily
reflect the number of cases that were reported.
One more issue arises with the classification of occupational diseases by cause. Some
factors are overly specific, for example, ‘use of tools in awkward manner (jerked movements)’,
resulting in relatively low number of recorded cases, while other ones, such as ‘other repetitive/
monotonous work’ are far broader categories. In addition, there is no provision for recording
occupational diseases, caused by social and psychological factors.
Within-country studies and European survey data suggest that the impact of the workplace on
MSDs is much higher and more widespread than the figures above illustrate, with significant
variation amongst different occupational groups. In the early findings from the latest survey
(EWCS, 2010) a quarter of workers reported exposure to vibration at least 25 per cent of the
time and just under a quarter of workers reported working in tiring or painful positions almost
all the time. Other risk factors such as carrying or moving heavy loads and work that involves
repetitive hand and arm movements are also experienced by a fairly high proportion of
Bulgarian workers.
MSDs affect employees in all kinds of industries and occupations, although some are more
high risk than others, and certain occupations are associated with strain on specific parts of the
musculoskeletal system. A number of studies within Bulgaria have examined the incidence of
MSDs across different occupational groups and show a high incidence rate of health complaints
linked to work. For example, in one study amongst 693 employees in a mechanical engineering
firm, over a third experienced frequent and continuous pain in the musculoskeletal system as
well as pain and stiffness in the lower back, arms, hands and shoulders. Another study amongst
156 public sector employees found that 60 per cent of the sample experienced pain in their
back, joints, muscles and limbs (Rusinova, Tzenova and Jilyova, 2007).
Whilst Bulgaria has official data on the impact of workplace factors on MSDs, the disparity
between official figures and data collected elsewhere demonstrates that the data quality could
be much improved to provide a more comprehensive and detailed picture.
It is clear that work is not the cause of rheumatic diseases such as RA and SpAs, though RA
has been linked to occupational risks such as vibrations, repetitive trauma, and knee bending
and lifting heavy weights (Prüss-Üstün and Corvalán, 2006). Types of work may also increase
the risk of developing RA. One study which examined the socioeconomic status and the risk of
developing RA found that the risk of manual workers, assistant and intermediate non-manual
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