The Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Lower Limbs among Iranian Workers: A Meta-Analysis Study

Background and and aims: In the last decades musculoskeletal disorders are increasing all over the world have been developed. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the lower limbs in order to achieve perfect results with high statistical power, meta-analysis was performed.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis work-related musculoskeletal disorders data were investigated. Some keywords were searched in accessible databases and engineers including SID, Magiran, Google Scholar, Medlib, IranMedex, and PubMed. In general, 27 articles during 2001 to 2010 were gathered. I2 index was used to evaluate heterogeneity of articles and ultimate data were analyzed using random effects models.
The total sample size in the studies has done in Iran, was 6090 patients with a mean of 225 samples per study. Musculoskeletal disorders were studied at various jobs that are generally confidence level (CL) 95%: lower back 50% (42.5–57.5), hips and thighs 20.7% (16.4-25)¡ knees 42.1% (35.1–49.1) and Ankles and feet 27.7%(18.8–36.7), respectively.
Work related musculoskeletal disorders in the lower limbs, especially in lower back and knees in comparison with other similar studies were more. Occupational health and ergonomics training on prevention of these disorders, especially for these limbs among Iranian workers is recommended.