ABSTRACT
Musculoskeletal conditions affect 16% of all Americans (1). In 1988 it was estimated that the direct and indirect costs of these to the country were equivalent to 2.5% GNP (2). This was three times as great as the estimated cost in 1980. Musculoskeletal conditions are an important cause of acute and chronic disability, being amongst the most common causes of work disability, because of their prevalence and severity (2). Indeed, in the workplace, the cost of musculoskeletal diseases were the highest and second-highest disease categories in workers with BMI between f27.5-30 and >30, respectively (3).
