ABSTRACT
This highlights an early identification of workers at risk to develop WRULMSD or at risk of worsening their symptoms. The assessment of perceived musculoskeletal symptoms is for the most importance. Pain and discomfort should be assessed, once they are the first ones reported by workers and the main causes to search clinical help (P. Buckle & Devereux, 1999; Zebis et al., 2011), being related to higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (P. W. Buckle & Devereux, 2002; Schneider, Irastorza, & Copsey, 2010). Discomfort is a perception phenomenon related to pain, fatigue and perceived effort, and has been used as a subjective outcome for short term effects (Corlett & Bishop, 1976). Its evolution to chronic musculoskeletal pain suggests discomfort as a WRMSD predictor (Hamberg-van Reenen et al., 2008).
