WorkSafe has launched a campaign to curb the number of preventable musculoskeletal injuries, such as strains, sprains and breaks, which cost WorkCover $40.9million in Monash in the past financial year.

The Monash municipality recorded the fourth-highest WorkCover costs, behind Greater Dandenong ($66.3million), Hume ($60.9million) and Melbourne ($52million).

Monash health and safety inspector Alison Van Der Arend said high injury claims in Monash could be due to the high number of industrial businesses.

However she said WorkSafe wanted to challenge the perception that musculoskeletal injuries were suffered only by people in jobs that involved heavy lifting.

"There's no safe weight limit if you're not doing it right."

Ms Van Der Arend said the onus was on both employers and employees to stay safe at work. "Risks can be minimised by not standing up on inappropriate stepladders and having anti-slip material in place."

Glen Waverley Traders Association president Christo Christophidis said workplace injuries could occur in any industry and traders had a responsibility to provide a safe workplace.

"It's also up to employees to be aware of what policies are. Safety at work is not about pointing fingers; it's about working together."

WorkSafe strategic programs director Trevor Martin said injuries to the muscles, tissue, nerves and bones accounted for more than half of all workplace injuries in the state.

"But they are often overshadowed because there's no 'blood on the floor'. Lifting a box, climbing a stepladder or navigating a slippery surface at work might not set off alarm bells for most of us, but tasks like these cause thousands of Melbourne workers painful muscle and bone injuries every year."

Mr Martin said such injuries often slipped under the radar. "Firstly, they're not always a hazard which is immediately obvious. Secondly, it's a cultural issue. Some workplaces mistakenly believe that as workers will always be at risk from musculoskeletal injury, there's no point in trying to control the risks."

WorkSafe has launched an advertising campaign to tackle muscle and bone workplace injuries.

Details: www.worksafe.gov.au