Does muscle strength predict future musculoskeletal disorders and sickness absence?

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Musculoskeletal Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• High muscle strength is often linked to preventing musculoskeletal disorders and sickness absence.
• However, existing research on this association is limited and presents conflicting findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between reduced muscle strength and the incidence of future musculoskeletal disorders.
• To investigate the link between low muscle strength and long-term sickness absence.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 421 Danish workers had their muscle strength (trunk, shoulder, handgrip) measured in 1995.
• Musculoskeletal disorders were self-reported in 2000, and sickness absence data was obtained from social transfer payment registers (1996-2007).

Main Results:

• After adjusting for covariates, workers in the lowest quartile of muscle strength showed no significantly elevated risk for future musculoskeletal disorders.
• Similarly, low muscle strength was not associated with a significantly increased risk of long-term sickness absence.

Conclusions:

• Low muscle strength is not a reliable predictor for developing musculoskeletal disorders in the general working population.
• The findings suggest that muscle strength alone may not be a key factor in predicting long-term sickness absence.