Prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among natural gas field workers

Abstract

Objectives This work aimed at studying the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among workers in natural gas fields and studying the relationship between the resultant health disorders and the working conditions. Background Workers at natural gas fields are continuously exposed to numerous hazardous materials and working conditions that place them at continuous risk of injury or death. Participants and methods A cross-sectional study carried out on 172 workers in one of the natural gas fields in Egypt. Results The prevalence of regional musculoskeletal pain was 47.7% in the studied workers. Low back pain was the most prevalent (30.5%), followed by knee pain (17.1%), wrist pain (12.2%), neck pain (11.0%), shoulder pain (8.5%), elbow pain (7.3%), hand pain (6.1%), foot pain (4.9%), and ankle pain (2.4%), respectively. The percentage of musculoskeletal pain was significantly higher in workers with over 9 years' work duration (P = 0.00). Conclusion Musculoskeletal manifestations were prevalent among natural gas field workers due to their exposure to multiple stressors in the workplace. With increasing duration of work, musculoskeletal manifestations become more prominent.