The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and analyzing the ergonomic status of workers involved manually carrying goods in the dairy industry

Today, the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is one of the health issues of concern in any society. One of the main causes of musculoskeletal disorders and conditions can be named unpleasant working conditions. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders including working postures and lifting-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers of distributing dairy products in Isfahan. The working posture of dairy products workers (n=50) were observed and recorded in 2009. The Nordic questionnaire was used to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and SPSS software were used to data analyses. Results showed the prevalence of working postures that were harmful to the musculoskeletal system was high. The prevalence of low back pain, shoulder disorders, knee disorders and wrist disorders for more than 24 hours in the past 12 months were 86%, 44%, 66% and 28%, respectively. An average of 22.82 % of working posture was classified in action category 3, 4 which needed to improve. Noting poor ergonomics conditions and high musculoskeletal disorders in workers, the implementation of interventions ergonomics (technical and managerial), prevention and training programs for workers in these industries seems essential.