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

Introduction and 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. 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. 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. 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