Background: In the past ten years European and Italian statistics reported a significant increase in work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which also covered the construction industry.
Objectives: To verify this issue, the EPM Research Unit, in collaboration with the Small Craft Industries Territorial Joint Committee in Bergamo (CPTA), undertook a research project on muscular-skeletal disorders.
Methods: The health survey was carried out by an ad hoc trained staff.
Results: Between November 2009 and September 2010, data on 2755 subjects were obtained. The entire sample and the group of masons were investigated and both exhibited high prevalence of upper limb disorders and high prevalence of degenerative diseases (herniated disc).
Conclusions: Active research needs to be included in the protocol of health surveillance, of upper limb and spinal MSDs. The data also highlight the need for biomechanical overload exposure data aimed at reconstructing risk profiles and at identifying the technological and organizational solutions to eliminate this particular risk.