In Iran-Shiraz, municipal solid waste is collected manually requiring strenuous physical
activities. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs) and its associated risk factors. Two hundred male waste collectors
participated in this cross-sectional study, in which task analysis followed by motion and
timeline analysis were performed. The data were collected using demographic,
occupation-specific physical and organizational demands, and Nordic musculoskeletal
questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was used for identifying independent risk
factors for MSDs. Ten motions observed during waste collection, and the most physical and
organizational demands were related to the running along with bag carriage, and the time
pressure, respectively. About 39% and 36.5% of the workers reported very high physical and
psychological workloads, respectively. Totally, 92.5% of waste collectors reported MSDs
symptom at least in one body region during the last 12 months. Lower back and knee
injuries were more prevalent and more severe. Some individual factors (age, body weight,
and waste collecting duration), physical demands (lifting bag/bucket, pulling/pushing
waste container, walking along with bag/bucket carriage, and jumping up/down on the
garbage truck), and organizational demands (low vacation and high decision authority) were
the most important risk factors for developing MSDs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.