The Effect of Eight Weeks of Corrective Exercises Intervention on Reducing the Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Computer Users of Gas Company

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are one of the most important causes of absenteeism, increased costs and human injuries, which are very common in computer users. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of corrective exercise on reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in computer users working in a gas company.

This cross-analytical study was conducted on 101 computer users working in a Gas Company in Qazvin city in 2019. Fourteen people participated in 8 weeks correction training intervention program (16 sessions in 1 hour and 2 times a week). Nordic questionnaire and body map were used in order to investigate the prevalence and severity of MSDs. The data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cramer V, McNamar, Paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon tests in SPSS version 23 software.

The most common disorders were shoulder (64.3%), waist (42.9%) and neck (35.7%) regions among computer users during the last week before intervention. The prevalence of MSDsby strength and flexion exercises in neck and shoulder regions with 95% and 99% confidence showed a significant decrease before and after intervention. The incidence of discomfort in the waist region decreased by 35.8% after intervention and in other regions decreased by at least 7.1%.

The results of this study showed that implementation of corrective training intervention program by exercise specialists can increase muscle stretch and consequently decrease the prevalence of MSDs7.1%- 64.3%.