Survey Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Risk Assessment in Paddy Workers in Marvdasht in 2013

Authors
Hamid Reza Jamshidi
Hadi Daneshmandi
Abdollah Haghayegh
Abstract
Introduction and Aims

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most important injuries of occupational health. This study was conducted with the objectives of determination of musculoskeletal disorders symptoms and ergonomics assessment of the risk of MSDs in paddy workers of Marvdasht city.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study was performed among 300 male paddy workers with at least one year of job tenure. Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire (NMQ) and QEC method were used for determination of prevalence and risk assessment of MSDs respectively. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.19 using statistical tests including Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square.

Results

The results of this study showed that the feet (77.3 percent), lower back (73.3 percent) and wrist/hand (72 percent) had highest prevalence of symptoms of MSDs among workers. There was a significant association between the prevalence of these disorders and age, weight, height, job tenure and marital status. QEC technique showed that 65 percent of studied workers were in high and very high level of exposure to musculoskeletal risks. Chi- square statistical test revealed that between musculoskeletal symptoms and QEC risk level had no association. But, the results of this section showed that with increasing the QEC risk level, occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms will be increased.

Conclusion

The prevalence of MSDs among studied workers is high. According to these results, awkward posture, lifting and carrying of heavy loads and flexion and twisting in lower back are the most common ergonomics problems in studied workers.



* Corresponding Author: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Research Center for Health Sciences.

Email: Daneshmand@sums.ac.ir
Keywords
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Nordic questionnaire
QEC
Paddy Workers
Choobineh A, Tabatabaei SH, Behzadi M. Musculoskeletal Problems among Workers of an Iranian Sugar-Producing Factory. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2009; 15(4): 419-24.

Choobineh A, Daneshmandi H, Aghabeigi M, Haghayegh A. Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Employees of Iranian Petrochemical Industries: October 2009 To December 2012. Int J Occup Environ Med. 2013; 4(4): 195-204.

Zamanian Z, Salimian Z, Daneshmandi H, AliMohammadi Y. The REBA Technique Ergonomic Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders Risk Level among Midwives of Shiraz State Hospitals. J Urmia Nurs Midwifery Fac. 2014; 12(1): 18-24.

Salvendy G. Handbook of Humanfactors and Ergonomics.4th ed. John Wiley & Sons; 2012.

Warnakulasuriya SS, Peiris-John RJ, Coggon D, Ntani G, Sathiakumar N, Wickremasinghe AR. Musculoskeletal Pain in Four Occupational Populations in Sri Lanka. Occup Med. 2012; 62(4): 269-72.

Choobineh A. [Posture Assessment Methods in Occupational Ergonomics]. Tehran: Fan Avaran; 2004. [In Persian].

Smith DR, Mihashi M, Adachi Y, Koga H, Ishitake T. A Detailed Analysis of Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk Factors among Japanese Nurses. J Safety Res. 2006; 37(2): 195-200.

Gerr F, Fethke NB, Anton D, Merlino L, Rosecrance J, Marcus M, et al. A Prospective Study of Musculoskeletal Outcomes among Manufacturing Workers: II. Effects of psychosocial stress and work organization factors. Hum Factors. 2014; 56(1): 178-90.

Kangar LH, Malekzadeh S, Alizadeh K, Shamshiri B, Zareei S. The Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Causes of Disability Retirement among Air Force Personnel during 1371-1382. Ann Mil Health Sci Res. 2006; 4(4): 813-8.

Osborne A, Blake C, Meredith D, Kinsella A, Phelan J, McNamara J, et al. Work‐related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Irish Farm Operators. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2013; 56(2): 235-42.

Putz-Anderson V, Bernard BP, Burt SE, Cole LL, Fairfield-Estill C, Fine LJ, et al. Musculoskeletal Disorders and Workplace Factors. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 1997.

Sukadarin EH, Deros BM, Ghani JA, Ismail AR, Mokhtar MM, Mohamad D. Investigation of Ergonomics Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorders among Oil Palm Workers Using Quick Exposure Check (QEC). Adv Eng Forum. 2013; 10: 103-9.

Das B. Gender Differences in Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Rice Farmers of West Bengal, India. Work. 2015; 50(2): 229-40.

Alizadeh M, Mouodi MA, Aghilinejad M. Body Postureassessment in Rice Farmers in Babolkenar whit OWAS Method. Proceeding of the 4th Occupational Health Conference. 2004 Oct. Hamedan, Iran.

Alexopoulos EC, Tanagra D, Konstantinou E, Burdorf A. Musculoskeletal Disorders in Shipyard Industry: Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Absenteeism. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2006; 7(1): 88.

Aabedini R, Choobineh AR, Soltanzadeh A, Ghiasvand R, Kazemhaghighi M. Ergonomic Evaluation of Exposure to Musculoskeletal Disorders Risk Factors by Quick Exposure Check (QEC) Technique in A Metal Structure Manufacturing Factory. Jentashapir J Health Sci. 2012; 4(2): 13-20.

Parkes KR. Social Support and Musculoskeletal Disorders (Literature Review and Data Analysis). England: HSE (Health and Safety Executive) Publication; Available from: URL http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr594.pdf/, (Accessed: 4 July 2015).

Choobineh A, Tabatabaei SH, Mokhtarzadeh A, Salehi M. Musculoskeletal Problems among Workers of an Iranian Rubber Factory. J Occup Health. 2007; 49(5): 418-23.

Zare R, Khazraei T, Choobineh AR, Daneshmandi H, Tayefeh Rahimian J, Rajabi AH. Assessment of the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders Using the Quick Exposure Check Technique among the Workers of a Shipbuilding Company. Sadra Med Sci J. 2014; 2(4): 399-406.