MYALGIA: THE PROFESSIONAL ILLNESS OF TRUCKERS
Often we hear about occupational diseases, which generally affect workers depending on the efforts and health risks they incur following work.
For example, truck drivers, almost all of them are affected by myalgia, which is an occupational disease caused by driving heavy vehicles, agricultural machinery or industrial vehicles with disorders or diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system.
Myalgia is manifested by constant and localized pain that affects one or more muscles that are contracted; the pain is quite excruciating because it is a deep pain or it may be mild but in the long run it causes stress and discomfort. The pain generally results from an involuntary muscle contraction, but sometimes it is caused by the partial rupture of the muscle following a trauma or a wrong movement. This disease is treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatories, even if myalgia is itself caused by wrong pharmaceutical treatments, which cause spasms, inflammation and pain.
Many studies and surveys carried out recently have shown that professional drivers have an excess risk for low back pain and the increased prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper or lower limbs have been associated with driving activities.
The most frequently reported disorders are classified in percentage in the following scheme:
- Thigh hip level (22.2%)
- Knees (29.3%)
- Elbow (10.8%)
- Arms (17.5%)
Also for drivers, occupational diseases are recognized by INAIL along with other pathologies such as angioneuronic diseases, osteo-arthropathy on the wrist, peripheral neuropathies and osteoarthritis on the elbow and shoulder.
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