Work related risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints in the nursing profession: results of a questionnaire survey.

Abstract

Objectives-To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints of the back, arms or neck, and legs among nurses, and to investigate the relation between these complaints and various work related and personal variables. Methods-A questionnaire survey was carried out in four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Results-The response was 95% and resulted in 846 completed questionnaires. It was found that a large proportion of the subjects regularly had back complaints (36%) but also had arm or neck (30%) and leg complaints (16%). Almost all respondents (89%) considered nursing work as physically strenuous. Most of them complained of working under time pressure (69%/o), increased work pressure (70%), and having no opportunity to take a break from the work (70%). The physical variables which seem to trouble the subjects most were lifting (65%), working in awkward postures (47%/), and stooping (34%).Moreover, 53% of the subjects responded that the ergonomic lay out of the ward was disagreeable. Most of the work related variables under study seemed to be associated with musculoskeletal complaints. For all types of complaints the strongest associations were found with having to lift heavy loads. Apart from physical stress various aspects of work pressure showed strong associations with the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints. The variables on the ergonomy of the ward showed less clear associations with musculoskeletal complaints than were found for physical stress and work pressure. Conclusions-From these results it may be concluded that future research of health risks of nursing work should have a wider focus than the relation between physical workload and low back pain. (Occup Environ Med 1996;53:636-641) Keywords: musculoskeletal complaints; physical stress; work pressure; nurses As shown in several studies, nursing work seems to be associated with low back pain' 10 with prevalences found between 42% and 62%.3 67 Depending on the type of work performed and the normally considerable workload in nursing, complaints may also be expected in other regions of the body, for instance in the legs or arm and neck region." However, for musculoskeletal problems at other anatomical sites (arms and neck, legs) it is far less easy to find prevalence rates in the scientific literature. In the study of Stubbs et al5 nurses with back pain were asked to indicate the anatomical site more precisely in a pictogram. The upper back and neck was pointed out as the site of the problem by 4%, and the buttocks and legs by 10% of the subjects with back pain. In a study on nurses in which complaints of the cervical back were examined, apart from thoracic and lumbar spine problems, a prevalence rate of 16% was found.'2 In another study among nursing personnel Lagerstrom et al'3 found prevalences of symptoms of the neck 48%, shoulder 53%, hand 22%, and knee 30%. Severe symptoms established on a nine point scale had lower prevalences on all sites, ranging from 18% for the shoulders to 7% for the knees.Because empirical data are spa...

Musculoskeletal disorders among staff in South Korea’s largest nursing home

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“…Their activities are known to alternate rapidly and be of short duration (9). Working under time pressures with limited ability to take rest breaks are also common features among this demographic (10). Physical stress from providing round-the-clock assistance to nursing home patients may be a causal factor in workplace injury and illness (11).…”

Factors Related to Musculoskeletal Disorders in Nursing Workers

“…Similarly to this research, another study of nursing workers also found an association between work time and MSD in neck and arms, and lack of this association for low back MSD, a finding that is linked with the healthy worker effect (18) . It is suggested that workers with pain in low back region tend to leave the nursing profession earlier, due to these complaints.…”

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Musculoskeletal injuries among operating room nurses: results from a multicenter survey in Rome, Italy

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