Determining the Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Tailors in Kermanshah, Iran Using the Nordic Questionnaire (2018)

Abstract

Background: Given that evaluating and diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is an important step towards preventing labor disorders, The present study was conducted to determine the degree of MSDs in tailors in the city of Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: The present descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in winter 2018 on 150 randomly-selected tailors in the city of Kermanshah. The status of neck, waist, shoulder, wrist, ankle, hip, knee and elbow was evaluated using the Nordic questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed in SPSS using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of the tailors was 41.9 ± 13.1 years. A total of 59.33 % of the tailors were male, and the men and women were significantly different in terms of MSDs (P < 0.05). A weekly study reported neck, shoulder, waist, wrists, elbows, thighs, knees and ankles disorders to involve 49.7%, 41.6%, 55%, 40%, 11.4%, 25%, 43.6% and 42.66% of the tailors, respectively. The most prevalent injuries recorded in an annual examination were respectively associated with the waist (65.33%), neck (64.66%) and shoulder (56%). In the previous year, 52% of the samples had suffered from pain and discomfort in at least one of the eight areas cited. Conclusions: The results of the present study found marital status, working hours and exercise to be the most significant variables affecting MSDs in the tailors. MSDs were found to be highly prevalent in especially the upper extremity of the sewing profession population. Optimizing the working condition of tailors is therefore crucial.

Physical environmental and occupational factors inducing work-related neck and shoulder pains among self-employed tailors of informal sectors in Ethiopia, 2019: results from a community based cross-sectional study

“…Our survey found a lower prevalence of neck and or shoulder pains compared to a study in India (91 and 88% in neck and shoulder,respectively) [45]. However, our finding is higher than that of 49.7% neck and 41.6% shoulder pain prevalence in study in Iran [21] and 31.67 and 38.33% prevalence of pain in neck and shoulder, respectively, from the report in India [46]. In Bangladesh, 23.7% of pain in neck has been documented [47].…”

“…There have been a wide range of studies which support the considerable link between upper extremity impairments and socio-demographic factors, such as gender [3,23,24], age [11,25,26], marital status [21,26], level of education, and experience [27]. Scholars have also proved that factors relating to the physical work environments,including working hours [21,28], working posture [25,[28][29][30],shift work [26], rest break [30] as well as vibrations [31] importantly influence the experience of upper extremity disorders. Moreover, lifestyle factors, such as physical exercise [21,25], alcohol use [25,32] and smoking [33][34][35] and psychosocial-related factors including job dissatisfaction [36], job stress [30,37], and time pressure [3] have been confirmed as potential risks for the development of musculoskeletal pains.…”

“…Scholars have also proved that factors relating to the physical work environments,including working hours [21,28], working posture [25,[28][29][30],shift work [26], rest break [30] as well as vibrations [31] importantly influence the experience of upper extremity disorders. Moreover, lifestyle factors, such as physical exercise [21,25], alcohol use [25,32] and smoking [33][34][35] and psychosocial-related factors including job dissatisfaction [36], job stress [30,37], and time pressure [3] have been confirmed as potential risks for the development of musculoskeletal pains. However,in Ethiopia, studies involving tailors and the various adverse health outcomes they encounter because of the inherent nature of their jobs are inconclusive.…”

“…Scholars have demonstrated that upper extremity disorders such as shoulders and necks are prevalent in jobs performed in prolonged sitting positions [ 19 , 20 ]. For instance,in a study in Iran, the prevalence of 49.7and 41.6% has been reported in neck and shoulder, respectively [ 21 ]. A study in India reported that 34% of tailors developed neck pains because of awkward postures associated with their jobs [ 22 ].…”

“…There have been a wide range of studies which support the considerable link between upper extremity impairments and socio-demographic factors, such as gender [ 3 , 23 , 24 ], age [ 11 , 25 , 26 ], marital status [ 21 , 26 ], level of education, and experience [ 27 ]. Scholars have also proved that factors relating to the physical work environments,including working hours [ 21 , 28 ], working posture [ 25 , 28 – 30 ],shift work [ 26 ], rest break [ 30 ] as well as vibrations [ 31 ] importantly influence the experience of upper extremity disorders.…”