Upper Extremity Disorders in Professional Female Milkers

Abstract

The prevalence of and the impact of selected factors on self-reported musculoskeletal complaints in Swedish female milkers with special reference to symptoms in the upper extremities were investigated using on data from mail-in surveys. An agricultural study group was formed of three subgroups: 161 active milkers, 108 non-milkers and 62 ex-milkers, women who had been milkers earlier but were no longer doing that kind of work. In the course of the analysis these subgroups were compared with each other and also, separately or in combinations, with a non-agricultural population consisting of 166 nursing assistants. Problems in the upper extremities were significantly more common in the agricultural group than in the non-agricultural group. Milkers had a higher risk of developing symptoms in the wrists and hands than non-milking women. Symptoms like numbness, coldness in the wrists and white fingers were more common in all agricultural subgroups than in the non-agricultural group. Numbness and white fingers were related to vibration exposure in the ex-milking and the non-milking groups but not in the milking group. Psychosocial factors such as occupational well being were not related to the occurrence of symptoms. Milking in modernised barn gave fewer problems in the elbows than milking in a traditional barn. Milkers who had received ergonomic instruction on how to work in order to reduce muscle stress had fewer problems in the elbow region than those who had not.

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“…Upper extremity injuries have plagued dairy farmers with 27% of all injuries being attributed to this region [Pratt et al, 1992] and tobacco farmers with 25% [Struttmann and Reed, 2002]. Based on a Swedish study, hand and wrist injuries are also prevalent on dairy farms with 51% of female dairy farmers suffering an injury [Stal, 2000]. Shoulder pain in the previous year was found to be greater in farming (14%) than either other manual labor (9.7%) or non-manual labor (7.1%) jobs [Walker-Bone and Palmer, 2002].…”

“…Cutting grapes from the vine during harvesting also creates high stress on the hands and wrist through high repetition (25-50 cuts per minute), which includes contact stress between the knife and hand Meyers et al, 2000]. On dairy farms, which have become highly automated, intense hand and arm motions are still required during the attachment of the milking machine to the utters of the cow [Stal, 2000]. These tasks are repeated twice a day, every day of the year for each cow on the farm.…”

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“…The combination of high hand force and repetitive hand exertions also occurs during pruning and harvesting at vineyards Meyers et al, 2000;. On many dairy farms where milking remains predominantly manual, intense hand and arm motions are still required (Stal, 2000). Even more-automated dairy operations require intensive handwork for attaching the milking devices to udders (Stal, 2000).…”

“…The prevalence of hand or wrist MSDs is roughly 25%-30% in many subsectors of the agriculture industry (Pratt et al, 1992;Struttmann and Reed, 2002;Gomez et al, 2003). A Swedish study found that dairy farms may have one of the highest prevalence rates of hand/wrist injuries, exceeding 50% (Stal, 2000). Shoulder injuries and shoulder pain due to farmwork, although not as prevalent as hand/wrist injuries, happen often, with a yearly prevalence of about 7%-15% (equal to or greater than the rate associated with other manual labor, 9.7%) (Struttmann and Reed, 2002;Walker-Bone and Palmer, 2002).…”

“…On many dairy farms where milking remains predominantly manual, intense hand and arm motions are still required (Stal, 2000). Even more-automated dairy operations require intensive handwork for attaching the milking devices to udders (Stal, 2000). Another common risk factor for hand/wrist disorders is the utilization of vibrating tools such as chain saws, weed eaters, and other mechanical hand equipment (Walker-Bone and Palmer, 2002).…”