Advances in Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Research: Towards Improving Health, Quality of Life and Safety
A special issue of Theoretical and Applied Ergonomics (ISSN 3042-7126).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editor
Interests: work-related musculoskeletal disorders; risk factors; risk assessment; prevalence; occupational ergonomics; dynamic and kinematic motion analysis; posture; biomechanical modeling and simulation; motion analysis; muscle modeling; muscular fatigue; safety; occupational health; sport performance; sport medicine; intelligent wheelchair; neuro- or biorobotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a major public health problem worldwide. They are responsible for significant absenteeism, disability and direct and indirect costs. They affect work habits and the quality of work, as well as the quality of life and well-being of workers; all work environments are impacted. Many factors contribute to and reinforce the presence of musculoskeletal disorders and their associated symptoms: working in awkward postures, the repetition of the same movements, the handling of heavy loads, unsuitable ergonomics, exposure environments, psychosocial context, etc. However, musculoskeletal disorders can also result from hereditary or congenital pathological processes. We welcome any research that can (1) help us understand and assess the causes and impact of musculoskeletal disorders on quality of life, safety and productivity; (2) propose recommendations and develop awareness and training policies; and (3) develop and explore new methodological and technical solutions that exploit new technologies (artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, wearable sensors, intelligent sensors, etc.).
This Special Issue therefore focuses on research and innovation aimed at improving the prevention and assessment of musculoskeletal disorder risks, irrespective of the work environment. Such research may take into account new working conditions, such as flexible working, telework, well-being and new forms of employment. We welcome contributions on the above topics, in any of the following forms: reliability studies, validity studies, cross-sectional studies, correlative studies, observational studies, study protocols, longitudinal studies, and case studies, as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Prof. Dr. Philippe Gorce
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Theoretical and Applied Ergonomics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- work-related musculoskeletal disorders
- biomechanics
- occupational ergonomics
- prevention
- ergonomic risk assessment
- risk factors
- prevalence (overall and body areas)
- safety
- occupational health
- machine learning
- virtual reality/augmented reality
- wearable sensing technology in musculoskeletal disorders
- artificial intelligence in musculoskeletal disorders
- application of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) in musculoskeletal rehabilitation
- sports injury and rehabilitation
- health-related quality of life
- well-being
- health professionals (surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, caregivers, stretcher bearers, dentists, midwives, etc.)
- industrial and tertiary workers
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