Working suspended in a harness rig: A comparative study of musculoskeletal health complaints in rope access technicians and controls.

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.