Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Indian railway sahayaks

Abstract

Railway sahayak or also known as coolie is one of the oldest occupations in India. This occupational group is continuously subjected to various musculoskeletal problems due to repetitive load exertion in unnatural postures. The present research aims to examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Indian railway sahayaks. A cross-sectional study has been conducted on a sample of 51 male sahayaks. With a modified Nordic questionnaire, data were collected on their demographics, work, and musculoskeletal pain history. Electromyography (EMG) of the upper trapezius muscle of selected 12 healthy sahayaks having no history of neck-shoulder complaints were analyzed under different load lifting and carrying conditions. Additionally, ergonomic risk levels were recorded using Rapid Entire Body Assessment method. The questionnaire revealed that for the past 1 year prevalence, the most affected body regions of railway sahayaks were neck (47%), shoulder (51%), lower back (43%), and knee (47%). The association between age group and MSDs in different body regions were found significant (p = 0.012 for neck, p = 0.017 for shoulder, etc.). Work experience also had a significant relation to the MSDs in different body regions (p = 0.013 for shoulder,p = 0.023 for calf, etc.). Analysis of variance reveals high significance level between EMG values and tasks performed by the sahayaks. In conclusion, railway sahayaks were found to have high rate of MSDs which may be associated with lifting/carrying heavy loads in awkward postures. Ergonomic interventions must be implemented to reduce the risk level on this group of workers.

Work-related injuries, postural stress, and musculoskeletal disorders among the railway track maintainers in India

“…From this study, it was also revealed that Indian railway track maintainers perform different types of heavy activities in an awkward posture, with repetition of work by which they suffer from WRI and MSP in different parts of their body. Although there is no other similar study reported in the literature with which to compare the results, these findings are consistent with previous epidemiological reports of MSP among relatively similar occupations involving Indian railway porters (Khan and Singh, 2018); construction industry (Lette et al, 2018); meat processing industry (Tappin et al, 2008); and brickfield workers (Das, 2015(Das, , 2019a. This high prevalence suggests that it would be worthwhile to examine whether track maintainance tasks are an important risk factor contributing to the development of MSDs among track maintainers.…”

Clinical Effectiveness and Return to Work Rate After Lumbar Total Disk Replacement and Microsurgical Lumbar Discectomy in Railway Workers: a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

“…High intensity workloads on the spine experienced by railway workers contribute to formation and acceleration of degeneration processes in the lumbar segments [14]. This leads to the formation of LDH, deformities and segmental instability associated with persistent radicular neurological manifestations requiring surgical treatment [15].…”

“…It is well recognized that heavy physical work may contribute to the development of degenerative changes in the lumbar spine segments [13]. This leads to acceleration of degenerative disk disease with the development of clinical compression symptoms, which reduces the preoperative workload of Railway workers [14]. The ability to maintain tolerance to intense physical activity with the restoration of previous professional activities is important for this category of patients [15].…”

Musculoskeletal disorders among doctors and nursing officers : an occupational hazard of overstrained healthcare delivery system in western Rajasthan, India

“…This prevalence is also comparable to the prevalence of MSDs reported among manual harvesting farmers of Rajasthan (77.9%) [ 21 ] and construction workers (77%) in Andhra Pradesh [ 22 ]. Surprisingly, this burden is higher than the prevalence of MSDs in railway sahayaks/coolies (65%) [ 23 ] and industrial workers (59.4%) [ 24 ], and the general population (25.9%) in India [ 25 ]. This high burden of MSDs among HCPs compared to heavy workers and general people raises concerns regarding the ergonomics of the work environments in Indian healthcare facilities.…”