Affiliations: [a]
Department of Work Psychology and Physiology, National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway
| [b]
Department of Health Sciences, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Kaj Bo Veiersted, Department of Work Psychology and Physiology, National Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 8149 Dep, N-0033 Oslo, Norway. Tel.: +47 23 19 53 75; Fax: +47 23 19 52 05; E-mail: bo.veiersted@stami.no.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Rope access technique is an alternative method for gaining access to challenging work locations. There is limited knowledge about possible adverse effects of this technique on the workers’ health. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of bodily regions with pain in rope access technicians with craft workers and the working population in general. METHODS: The one-month prevalence of pain in the head, neck, distal upper extremities, lower back and lower extremities was recorded in rope access technicians (n = 95), “craft workers” (n = 289) and “all occupations” (n = 1563). RESULTS: An increased prevalence of pain in the neck, distal upper extremities and lower extremities was found for the rope access technicians compared with all occupations (p-values <0.01). Compared with the craft workers, relatively more rope access technicians reported pain in the lower extremity region (p <0.01) while the groups were similar for the other body regions. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of pain in the lower extremities was higher in rope access technicians compared with craft workers, while no differences were found for other body regions. The increased prevalence of pain in the neck and distal upper extremities in the technicians compared with all occupations may therefore be related to the work tasks and not the access technique.
Keywords: Rope access technique, harness rig, health complaints, musculoskeletal pain
