The impact of risk factors associated with long-term computer use on musculoskeletal discomfort among administrative staff: A case study

Abstract

Work-related musculoskeletal diseases (WMSDs) are on the rise as a result of excessive usage of desktop computers. People use computers in the office for communication, word processing, data processing, record keeping, and project management, among other applications. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) and related risk factors among university workers. This study explores the association between the severity of body discomfort and affected activities such as daily living and work. This study focused on musculoskeletal discomfort among support staff at University Malaysia Pahang who works in the office. There is 50 support staff (58 percent were females; 47 percent were males) who participated in this cross-sectional study. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to gather data on personal characteristics, occupational conditions, and the prevalence of WMSDs. The intensity of pain was assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). This study found four body regions with the most pain experienced by office workers: neck, shoulders, upper back, and low back. The individual risk factors related to musculoskeletal discomfort are age, weight, and height. The occupational risk factors that are most significant are working experience, daily computer use, and virtual meetings during work from home (WFH). Work and leisure activities are the most affected by the pain experienced by the respondents. In terms of work aspects, this study determined that job performance is the most significantly affected due to musculoskeletal discomfort. This study gives office workers some awareness of risk factors related to musculoskeletal discomfort during prolonged computer use and prolonged sitting. Providing prolonged computer use guidelines to reduce musculoskeletal discomfort among office workers is highly recommended.

A systematic review of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors among computer users

“…All studies were done using cross sectional study design. The sample size varied from 50 in Malaysia [ 7 ] to 838 Addis Ababa [ 1 ]. The subjects of all studies were computer users who were employed by various organizations.…”

“…A total of 8883 respondents were participated from 14 different countries. Five studies were conducted from India [ 11 , 24 , [27] , [28] , [29] ], four from Ethiopia [ 1 , 8 , 20 , 21 ], three from Iran [ 26 , 30 , 31 ], two from China [ 25 , 32 ], two from Malaysia [ 7 , 33 ], and one study each from Bangladesh [ 4 ], Egypt [ 9 ], Saudi Arabia [ 34 ], Ghana [ 23 ], Pakistan [ 35 ], Kuwait [ 6 ], Nigeria [ 36 ], Sri Lanka [ 37 ], and Estonia [ 38 ]. The prevalence of WMSDs was obtained from all studies [ 1 , 4 , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , 11 , 20 , 21 , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] ], while the data regarding to associated factors were also reported by all except two studies [ 27 , 34 ].…”

“…The prevalence of MSDs was highest (95.3 %) and lowest (33.8 %) in Shah Alam, Malaysia [ 33 ] and Tamil Nadu, India [ 11 ] respectively as shown in Table 1 . According to Table 2 , fifteen out of twenty-five studies reported that the lower back, neck, upper back, and shoulder were the most affected body parts, and the elbow, hip/thigh, knee, wrist/hand, and ankle/feet were the least affected body parts, respectively [ 1 , 4 , [6] , [7] , [8] , 11 , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , 25 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 34 ].…”

“…10 of the 25 articles discovered that neck pain was the most prevalent MSDs [ 4 , [6] , [7] , [8] , 22 , 25 , 26 , 31 , 38 , 41 ] and the highest and lowest prevalence of neck pain was observed in Malaysia (78 %) [ 7 ] and Hayat, Pakistan (14.8 %) [ 42 ], while the highest and lowest prevalence of shoulder pain was found in Malaysia (72 %) [ 7 ] and Hayat, Pakistan(12.1 %) [ 42 ] respectively. In the majority of studies that were reviewed, along with the neck, the lower back, upper back, and shoulder were listed as the body parts that were most affected [ 1 , 4 , [6] , [7] , [8] , 11 , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , 25 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 38 , 41 ] as shown in Table 2 .…”

“…Computer overuse has been linked to increasing WMSDs among office workers. One of the reasons for this concern is the transition from paper to computer work [ 7 ]. Computer workers are occupations that can potentially be affected by WMSDs [ 8 , 9 ].…”