Studying Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevalence and Its Associated Factors Among Education Office Employees in Arak in 2016-17: A Descriptive Study

Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common work-related disorders, which have high prevalence not only among hard and hurtful jobs, but also in office jobs. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders its associated factors among Education Office employees in Arak in 2016-17. This descriptive study was done by census method on 412 employees of Education Office in 2016-17. Data was collected using a questionnaire including three sections, the first section included demographic characteristics, the second section Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire (NMQ) and the third section Body Map Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using chi-square test. Considering the results, 56.6% (197 ) of participants had felt pain and inconvenience in at least one of the 9 areas of the body during the past 12 months. The highest prevalence of pain was found in the areas of lower back (36.5%), neck (26.4%) and knee (25.6%) and the lowest prevalence of pain was in the area of elbow (9.4%). Data analysis also showed that prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is sex-dependent, so that it is more common in women (p=0.024) Musculoskeletal disorders are highly prevalent in administrative staff especially in women, and these individuals are at the risk of suffering from these disorders. Therefore, it is suggested to provide necessary education and intervention in this regard.