The prevalence of musculoskeletal discomforts and its relation with work posture in Carpet Weavers, Boshruyeh City

Carpet industry is one of the most important, dangerous and traditional industries in Iran. Non-Ergonomic factors such as non-standard work tools, inappropriate physical postures, long hours of work and insufficient rest of carpet weavers can lead to musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and its relationship with posture in rural carpet weavers in Boshruyeh city.

This study is descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional. The sampling method was census-based and included all rural carpet weavers in Boshruyeh city who were active at least 6 months prior to the beginning of the study and were willing to cooperate (62 people). In order to investigate musculoskeletal discomforts, used from Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) and for posture assessment, The Occupational Repetitive Action Index (OCRA) method was used. The collected data by using SPSS software IBM 24 (Pearson correlation test) was analyzed.

The results showed that 98.39% of the workers felt discomfort at least in one of the 20 assessed regions. The most common discomfort of carpet weavers was 72.88% in the lower back region and the lowest incidence of discomfort was 9.68% in the hip/buttocks. There was a significant statistical relationship between scores of musculoskeletal discomforts in 11of 20 assessed regions with OCRA score (p <0.05), There was also a significant statistical relationship between age, work hours and work experience with CMDQ score (p <0.05).

It seems Insufficient rest, Repetitive work, and incorrect posture are of factors affecting the musculoskeletal discomfort.observe the principles of ergonomics, especially having proper postures and regular rest along with stretching can be helpful in reducing the incidence of discomfort and musculoskeletal disorders.