Reduction Of Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Articles

Effect of Stretching Exercise on Reducing Musculoskeletal Disorders for Administration Staff at Hospital

Administrative staff worked with static body posture and repetitive work for more than eight hours a day. They were experiencing musculoskeletal disorders as a risk of using workstation and their posture at work. It is important to reduce the risk of injury caused by their working risks. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of stretching on the reduction of musculoskeletal disorders. This research used quasi-experiment approach with one group pre-test post-test only design. The number of research respondents was 60 employees taken by purposive sampling at Lung Hospital Bandung. Musculoskeletal disorders measured using the Nordic Body Map questionnaire before and after interventions. Stretching was giving to employees every day for 3 weeks simultaneously. The result shows majority of respondents were female, 33 respondents (55%), as many as 54 respondents (66.7%) were 24-30 years old. Most of respondents have BMI in obese level as may as 31 respondents (51.7%). Respondents who have worked for more than 2 years were 43 respondents (71.7%). Before the intervention, as many respondents experienced low complaints (86.7%). After the intervention, all respondents had decreaced in complaints become the low category (p=0,001). Recommendation for hospital was to carry out stretching exercise to prevent MSDs for administrative workers.

Evaluation of the effect of ergonomic educational intervention on working condition correction and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders in office workers

Introduction: The growing trend of office workers and the use of computers in these workstations has caused an increase in the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among them. Most of the studies have emphasized the need for interventions to improve the ergonomics of office workstations. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of ergonomic training intervention on improving working conditions and reducing musculoskeletal disorders in office workers. Materials and Methods: The present research is a descriptive-analytical and correlational study. The statistical population of the study is all the employees of the administrative staff of Shuttle Company, according to the criteria for entering and exiting the study, 130 people participated in this study. After the initial evaluation of the work situation, the ergonomic training intervention program was presented to the employees of the company to reduce the musculoskeletal injury factors for two months. The physical condition was evaluated before and after the training. Data collection tools included the Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders Evaluation Questionnaire (NMQ) and the ROSA posture evaluation method. The data was analyzed by SPSS software; descriptive statistics and Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The results of the study showed that the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders in different age groups is not significant in most body organs and only this relationship has been confirmed in the neck and upper back area. However, the relationship between skeletal and muscular disorders and employees' work history is not significant in most body parts, and only this relationship has been confirmed in the neck and upper back area. Finally, the ergonomic training of the studied subjects has had a significant impact on their calculated risk level (using the ROSA method). Conclusion: Although most companies have equipment with the necessary ergonomics, employees do not know how to use them correctly. Due to the lack of knowledge of some managers and employees about the importance of ergonomics, it is better to provide these people with the necessary training in this field in addition to creating a work environment by the principles of ergonomics.

Investigating the Effect of Ergonomic Interventions on the Reduction of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Qeshm Zinc Smelting Complex

Introduction: With the advancement of science and technology in third world and developing countries, more and more harmful factors in the working environment endanger the employees’ lives. One of these detrimental factors is the incompatibility of work with people’s characteristics, which causes musculoskeletal disorders. In developing countries this happens at the cost of musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of ergonomic interventions on reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, and finally, use the results obtained to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and improve the working environment among the staff of Qeshm Zinc Smelting company, in 1399.
 Methods: In this study, staff were randomly evaluated as a case control by the Nordic questionnaire, using QEC method and body map. Ergonomic interventions were then performed on the case group. After one month and four months, re-evaluation was performed by QEC and body map methods.
 Results: Findings indicated that 84.21% of the participants had musculoskeletal disorders in the past year before the study. Ergonomic interventions for musculoskeletal disorders in the lower back, shoulders, neck, knees and hands were significantly reduced.
 Conclusion: Therefore, by doing ergonomic interventions, including teaching ergonomic principles, using automatic equipment, etc., musculoskeletal disorders in the back, shoulders, neck and knees were created and musculoskeletal disorders were reduced to 13.58%.

What do the different ergonomic interventions accomplish in the workplace? A systematic review

Introduction. Improving well-being and overall system performance are the ultimate goals of ergonomics, which are achieved through ergonomic interventions. This systematic review aimed to answer the question of what different ergonomic interventions accomplish in the workplace. Method. The systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. Ergonomic interventions in workplaces focusing on any ergonomics health outcomes or productivity were identified in electronic databases up to June 1, 2019. Results. The 1635 articles collected from the literature screening stage were screened for their relevance to this study by the authors independently. The full-text review identified 22 papers qualified for inclusion in this systematic review. Most of the interventions implemented in the analyzed articles were ergonomic training programs, participatory ergonomics and workstation designs. The highlight results showed that interventions such as feedback, participatory ergonomics in short-term follow-ups and job rotation along with ergonomic guidelines did not significantly affect the risk of psychosocial factors. A significant reduction of musculoskeletal disorders in the upper limbs was reported with workplace improvements. Conclusion. There was no specific study method or intervention approach found to influence ergonomic outcomes. A multicomponent intervention program can be used to improve the impact of interventions on employees’ health and system productivity.

Practices and Attitudes of Dental Loupes and Their Relationship to Musculoskeletal Disorders among Dental Practitioners.

Objective A dental loupe is a tool used by many dentists and dental students to improve visual field and performance. This study aims to assess the practices and attitudes about dental magnification loupes and their relationship to musculoskeletal disorders. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 400 dental students and dentists in four dental colleges in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The mean age was 28.35 years (SD = 8.50), and 56% of the participants were male. Also, 70.75% were students or interns, while 29.25% were dentists. Data gathering was conducted using a questionnaire that was composed of four sections: demographic, magnification devices usage, attitude toward dental loupes, and the Nordic questionnaire to assess musculoskeletal disorders. Results A total of 66% of participants had used dental magnification tools before, but only 12.25% were using dental loupes at the time of the study. The main reported advantages of dental loupes were comfort in vision (59.25%) and improved work accuracy (53%), while the main disadvantage was difficulty in visual measurement (28.5%). A total of 73.25% reported that price was the main barrier to the use of dental loupes. Lower back (63.5%), neck (65.25%), and shoulder (46.25%) pain were the most frequently reported areas of discomfort. There was a significant relationship (<0.05) between the use of dental loupes and lowered levels of reported discomfort in the lower back, neck, shoulders, elbows, upper back, and feet. Conclusion There are few dental professionals who use dental loupes in Saudi Arabia. There was a significant relationship between dental loupes use and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders among dental students and dentists.

Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders by improving Postural Habits: experience with cleaning personnel

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention for improving postural habits among cleaning personnel, to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. We designed a specific intervention for cleaning personnel, consisting of a set of continuous actions focused on promoting good postural habits and physical activity. The intervention was implemented over two different years (initial implementation and replication phases) in a sample of workers in the general building cleaning subsector who belonged to different work centers of the same company. The evaluation of the intervention consisted of self-reported worker feedback and recording of habits by an external observer. In the initial implementation phase, we observed a 92% increase in participants who reported they always or almost always adopt good postural habits during cleaning tasks. In the replication phase, this improvement was sustained by about 67% of participants. The main improvements were observed in: bending knees and hips, keeping the back straight, alternating use of arms and using support while bending forward. The external observation of postural habits corroborated the improvement reported by the workers. This intervention approach, consisting of different actions, could be continued over time, facilitating worker empowerment, and may be effective in improving the postural habits of cleaning workers in the short term. More research is needed to assess whether the change in habits is maintained over the long term and what its effect would be on the reduction of musculoskeletal disorders.

Effect of an Ergonomic Intervention on Reduction of Musculoskeletal Disorders; A case study on employees of Bandar Abbas zinc Production Company

Introduction: Musculoskeletal discomfort is one of the most important causes of occupational injury and disability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic intervention in order to reduce them.&#x0D; Methods: This analytic-descriptive study was conducted on 116 employees of Bandar Abbas Zinc Production Company. The Nordic questionnaire and QEC method were used to collect data before and after the interventions. An intervention program was conducted to reduce the workers' load weight, change their work level height, job rotation, and training. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.&#x0D; Results: During the last year, the highest frequency of musculoskeletal disorders were 65.52% in the lower limbs, 43.10% in the shoulder, and 43.10% in the knees. According to Cochran test, a significant difference was found between the discomfort before and after the intervention in the organs.&#x0D; Conclusion: The results revealed a significant reduction in musculoskeletal discomfort 3 months after the intervention. As a result, it can be deduced that integrated use of engineering and management interventions in a simple, practical, and cost-effective manner can reduce these diseases. Furthermore, continuous monitoring over appropriate implementation of these interventions over a long period of time along with commitment of the management and employee participation may reduce the musculoskeletal disorders.

The Effect of Ergonomic Educational Intervention on Reducing Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nurses

Background: Nurses are subjected to musculoskeletal disorders for the reason of working situations and pressures, which any neglect of them causes a poor quality of hospital services provided to the patients. So, the present study was conducted to develop and evaluate the intervention based on the educational and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders among nurses of Khansar Fatemieh Hospital. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 74 nursing staffs of Fatemieh Hospital, Khansar, Iran, who were studied completely as the whole census. Inclusion criteria were nurses who were responsible for patient transmission, with more than one year of work experience and without a case history of musculoskeletal disorders. Exclusion criteria were surgery or accident while studying as well as disinclination to continue taking part in the study. Initially, the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was investigated by Nordic Questionnaire and Occupational Risk Factors by Rapid Body Assessment Technique (REBA). Evaluation criteria for the impact of training consisted of training such as film, pamphlets, handouts, informing in telegram channels, etc. Ultimately, after three months of training courses, the workstation was re-assessed through the above methods, and the data were analyzed through SPSS software version 16, Chi-square statistical tests, McNemar and Wilcoxon tests; then the effectiveness of the educational intervention was identified. Results: The mean age and work experience of the participants were 5.27 (32.83)and 4/55 (7.83) year respectively. The results illustrated that the highest rate of prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was pertinent to the waist (64.90%) and knee (62.20%), wrist (50/00%) in order. The results obtained from the REBA technique indicated that 89.20% of participants were above the range of risk average. After the intervention, statistical tests exhibited a significant reduction in scores and level of risk achieved by the REBA technique (p-value&lt;0/05). Also, the results stated that there was a significant reduction in musculoskeletal pains in the areas of the neck, shoulder, and knee after the intervention (P-value&lt;0.05). But no perceptible change could be observed in the other kinesthetic organs of the body (P-value&gt;0.05). No significant relationship could be seen between gender, work experience, BMI (Body Mass Index) and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (P-value&gt;0.05) in this study, but the statistical tests indicated that there was a significant relationship between age and pain in wrist area (P-value&lt;0.05). Conclusion: The results offer that if preventative ergonomic training is part of multidisciplinary interventions and is presented through training such as film, pamphlets, pamphlets, handouts, informing in telegram channels and etc., it may have more influence on the reduction of musculoskeletal disorders.

Upper extremity posture and muscle activity during IV pole interaction

Background. The physical demands associated with patient handling activities have been well documented in healthcare. However, many activities contribute to the physical demands of caregivers. Our purpose was to evaluate upper extremity muscle activity and kinematics during intravenous (IV) pole interaction. Materials and methods. Muscle activity was measured from six muscles using surface electromyography and joint kinematics were measured using motion capture. Participants performed two IV pole tasks: loading an IV bag and a medical device onto the pole. Two poles were evaluated: a traditional IV pole and a redesigned pole with ergonomic considerations. Results. Cervical extensor activity was significantly greater for the bag task with the traditional pole (43.29 ± 5.10% maximal voluntary exertion) compared to the redesigned pole (28.55 ± 3.42% maximal voluntary exertion). Peak right shoulder flexion was reduced from 102.88° ± 32.42° with the traditional pole to 55.44° ± 19.59° with the redesigned pole. Conclusion. Interactions with a traditional pole are comparable to upper extremity muscle activity during manual patient handling transfers. The redesigned pole reduced shoulder flexion during bag attachment, leading to less time in an overhead posture. Caregivers frequently interact with IV poles and reducing the physical demands associated with pole use could aid in a reduction of musculoskeletal disorders.

Effect of educational intervention on practicing correct body posture to decrease musculoskeletal disorders among computer users.

AIM AND BACKGROUND:Studies show that the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among computer users is more than the other occupations. The present study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the “stages-of-change” model on practicing the correct posture to reduce MSDs among computer user staff of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).METHODS:This is a quasi-experimental study which was carried out on 176 staff of TUMS. The study population was divided into two case and control groups, each including 88 participants. A self-structured as well as a standard questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data then were analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests.RESULTS:There was no significant difference between both groups in terms of mean score of stages of change, perceived benefits and barriers, self-efficacy, and processes of change before the intervention. However, the mean score of these variables increased for case group 3 months after the intervention. In addition, case group participants reported lower MSDs in their neck, lower back, elbow, and knee compared to control group.CONCLUSION:Ergonomic educational intervention based on the “stages-of-change” model has a positive impact on reduction of MSDs. Therefore, these disorders can be decreased through reducing working hours, changing the work conditions in accordance with ergonomic principles, dedicating some time for staff exercise, and holding educational courses for the personnel.

A Tailored Learning Program for Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Background: Due to the complexity of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), comprehensive approaches targeting both the employee and the working environment are considered to be the most promising interventions for the prevention and reduction of MSD. Such comprehensive interventions are rarely scientifically investigated and evaluated. Aim: In this paper we evaluate a tailored ergonomic learning program for the development of low strain working techniques in respect to reducing the level of MSD among the employees at an industrial work place. Method: In one department (n=56) all employees were participating in either intensive or team based courses, depending on the degree of severity in MSD. In another department (n=51), only employees with a high degree of MSD were participating in a course. In addition, employees in 12 support departments (n=148) were used as a reference group. The physical work environment was adjusted according to the new working techniques. Results: There was a 33% reduction in the average number of pain regions (p=0.0389) among the employees in the department where all employees were participating in a course

Avaliação do risco ergonômico em trabalhadores da indústria têxtil por dois instrumentos: quick exposure check e job factors questionnaire

A análise dos fatores de risco ergonômicos presentes em indústrias têxteis auxilia no planejamento de estratégias que contribuem para a melhora das condições de trabalho e redução dos distúrbios osteomusculares. Este estudo se propôs a mensurar os níveis de exposição aos fatores de risco ergonômicos em trabalhadores de dois setores de produção de uma indústria têxtil. Para tanto, os instrumentos Job Factors Questionnaire (JFQ) e o Quick Exposure Check (QEC) foram aplicados em 107 trabalhadores. Os resultados foram analisados por estatística descritiva. O teste de Mann-Whitney foi utilizado para comparação dos resultados obtidos entre os setores de produção. O diagnóstico do nível de exposição ao risco ergonômico, obtido por ambos os instrumentos, foi moderado. Os fatores de risco considerados pelo JFQ como mais criticos estão relacionados à temperatura ambiental; postura mantida em longos períodos de tempo; posturas inadequadas para coluna e continuar trabalhando quando está com alguma dor ou com alguma lesão. O QEC identificou as regiões de coluna lombar e punhos/mãos como expostas ao alto risco. Não houveram diferenças estatisticamente significante entre os setores.

Reducing musculoskeletal disorders among computer operators: comparison between ergonomics interventions at the workplace

Typing is associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused by multiple risk factors. This control study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a workplace intervention for reducing MSDs among computer workers. Sixty-six subjects with and without MSD were assigned consecutively to one of three groups: ergonomics intervention (work site and body posture adjustments, muscle activity training and exercises) accompanied with biofeedback training, the same ergonomics intervention without biofeedback and a control group. Evaluation of MSDs, body posture, psychosocial status, upper extremity (UE) kinematics and muscle surface electromyography were carried out before and after the intervention in the workplace and the motion lab. Our main hypothesis that significant differences in the reduction of MSDs will exist between subjects in the study groups and controls was confirmed (χ2 = 13.3; p = 0.001). Significant changes were found in UE kinematics and posture as well. Both ergonomics interventions effectively reduced MSD and improved body posture. Practitioner Summary: This study aimed to test the efficacy of an individual workplace intervention programme among computer workers by evaluating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), body posture, upper extremity kinematics, muscle activity and psychosocial factors were tested. The proposed ergonomics interventions effectively reduced MSDs and improved body posture.

The effects of psychosocial factors on trapezius muscle activity levels during computer use

The goal of the present study, a part of the PROOF (Predicting Occupational biomechanics among OFfice workers) study, was to determine if there was a relationship between psychosocial stress, measured by reward and over-commitment, and trapezius muscle activity while workers performed their own computer work in the field. We observed that workers reporting higher levels of over-commitment and lower reward also experienced approximately 40% higher median trapeizus muscle activity levels than workers reporting lower levels of over-commitment and lower reward (change from 3.5% MVC to 6% MVC), with no difference in muscle activity for workers reporting high reward and either low or high over-commitment. Workers reporting higher levels of over-commitment experienced more variability in trapezius muscle activity. The results of this study may be used to inform interventions targeting reduction of musculoskeletal disorders among office workers.

Total Ergonomics and Its Impact in Musculoskeletal Disorders and Quality of Work Life and Productivity

Studies have indicated the application of ergonomics in improving the quality of work life, reducing musculoskeletal disorders and increasing productivity. On the other hand, there are large differences between developing and developed countries in applying ergonomics knowledge, the need of applying the science of culture, especially in developing countries and the third world is vital, but the culture implementation and pay evaluation of total ergonomics (micro and macro) is low. Therefore, this study has tried using the studies of society and culture dominated by manufacturing service, a comprehensive and integrated model for ergonomics interventions to be developed and used in an educational establishment and the effects of ergonomic interventions in a field study in comparison with conditions before the intervention using questionnaire “body mapping” and “quality of work life” to evaluate. Study results showed increased productivity, improved work life quality and reduced musculoskeletal disorders. So a comparison of performance than the base year indicated lower costs and increased revenue and expanded with less manpower in data analysis questionnaire “quality of work life” and “body mapping” which showed that significant difference in confidence interval between the sample and control population is ninety-nine percent and there is reduction of musculoskeletal disorders and increase in quality of work life. Those indices indicated the positive effect of interventions ergonomics.