Muscle Fatigue Assessment (MFA); The Relationship Risk Factors with Musculoskeletal Disorders and its Consequence among Employees of an Industry

In the household appliances industry, due to doing such work operations as manually moving pieces, there is the probability of occurring musculoskeletal disorders and muscle fatigue. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate muscle fatigue and its relationship with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among personnel of a household appliances factory. Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistical and logistic regression tests. This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study, including 150 employees of a household appliances factory, was conducted in 2016. Data about the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and muscle fatigue were collected using a standard Nordic and muscle fatigue assessment (MFA) questionnaire, respectively, and analyzed using the logistic regression test. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the lumbar region, knees and neck was 33.3%, 25.3%, and 21.3%, respectively. In addition, the results of MFA showed that reduction of the risk of muscle fatigue in the shoulders, wrists and arms needs corrective action as a top priority in 28.7%, 28%, and 26.7% of the employees, respectively. Statistical analysis showed no significant relationship between muscle fatigue and the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders. Considering disorders in the lumbar region and risk of fatigue in the shoulder region, the risk can be reduced by proper corrective actions, such as increasing the height of pallets, using tables with adjustable heights, and layout of the parts in a normal access range.