Work-related musculoskeletal disorders. A lesson from the past

Ramazzini's De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of workers), published in 1700, has been described as a contribution to the development of occupational health as important as the contributions of what Vesalius' work to anatomy and Morgagni's to pathology. Bernardino Ramazzini (1633 – 1714) went beyond the study of usual health problems of his time (typhoid, smallpox, and plague), describing instead the health problems suffered by workers in particular occupations.In light of the recent increase of musculo-skeletal disorders, representing a major cause of lost time from work, workers’ disability, compensation claims and health care costs,5 it is appropriate to recall the lessons of Ramazzini. He anticipated the utility of epidemiology for discovering health problems, investigated the working environment in order to improve it, and provided workers with sound hygienic measures—sound even from the perspective of modern occupational health