Showing 53 results for Musculoskeletal Disorder
Hamed Yarmohammadi, Mahdi Jahangiri, Moslem Alimohammadlou, Fateme Rahmati,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Planning and scientific policy making is required for the investigation of scientific productions. Scientific productions are published through universities and research centers in the form of articles and research journals. Scientometric approaches are a tool to assess the performance of journals in different fields. The aim of the present study was to investigate the activity of ergonomics journal.
Methods: The current research was a practical objective with the descriptive data collection method, which was conducted with a scientometric approach. The research population consists of all the articles published in ergonomics journal during the years 1392 to 1401. Publish or Perish, Vosviewer and Excel software were used to collect and analyze data.
Results: A total of 296 articles from 724 authors have been published in Ergonomics journal during a 10-year period. The most articles published belonged to Hamadan, Shiraz, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti universities of medical sciences. The most effective authors in this journal were Rashid Heydari Moghadam (with 21 articles), Majid Motamedzadeh (with 20 articles), and Alireza Chubineh (with 15 articles). The most frequently used keywords were skeletal and muscular disorders with a frequency of 39, ergonomics 37 and anthropometrics 15.
Conclusion: According to the results, the number of citations of articles in this journal was at a low level. Therefore, it is suggested to increase the amount of international participation in order to index the journal in international citation databases and increase the citation rate of articles and the visibility of the journal.
Abbasali Jafari Nodoushan, Amirabbas Abouei Mehrizi, Fateme Sadat Mosavi Nodoushan,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: COVID-19 virus pandemic and quarantine implementation have different effects on students' psychological aspects and musculoskeletal disorders. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 virus on musculoskeletal disorders and the mental health of Meybod University students.
Methods: For this purpose, a random sample of 350 students of Meybod University was selected in 2021. Data were collected based on three questionnaires Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders, Mental Health, and Corona Disease Anxiety Scale. The Logistic regression and Chi-square test.
Results: The results showed that the anxiety caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has a significant effect on students' mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused musculoskeletal disorders in most parts of the student body. The grade, exercise, daily sports, and the number of people infected with the virus are the variables that significantly affect organ disorders and the mental health of students in this condition.
Conclusion: Due to the importance of students' physical and mental health, it is necessary to plan students' classrooms properly. Also, with virus outbreaks and the need to comply with restrictions, planning for sports and simple stretching exercises can reduce disorders and increase students' vitality.
Mehran Maleki Roveshti, Mehdi Raei, Firouz Valipour,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders are an important issue in many healthcare work environments. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate musculoskeletal disorders and occupational risk factors on the physical status of medical staff in Iran.
Methods: In this systematic review, eligible studies from national and international databases, such as PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, SID, Magiran and IranMedex from 1390 to 1400 were independently analyzed by two researchers based on the preferred reporting cases of the Guidelines for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) . MeSH keywords and phrases were used to implement the search strategy.
Results: Of the 360 articles, the full text of 24 articles was finally examined. The results of the study showed that the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal abnormalities and complaints among workers in the last 12 months was related to neck pain (46.01%). Furthermore, among the 24 occupational risk factors identified, prolonged standing (20.83%) and repetitive movements (16.66%) are the most important factors for the occurrence of physical complaints among healthcare workers.
Conclusion: The results of this study can play an important role in strengthening and improving the country's health system in terms of individual, administrative and organizational measures in health centers. In this way, the physical needs, the psychological and ergonomic stresses of the working environment and the health of the treatment staff can be improved.
Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Armin Lahouri, Ataalah Barati, Hadi Miri,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: In today's advanced world, musculoskeletal problems are among the most serious problems. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between ergonomics and postural abnormalities in manufacturing workers.
Methods: The statistical population of this research consists of 210 male employees working in two production units. Among this population, 134 cases were included in the study according to Morgan's table and based on the inclusion criteria. The pain in different parts of the body was assessed by the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) was utilized to evaluate workplace ergonomics, and the body posture was evaluated by the New York Posture Rating. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 26). The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to investigate the normality of data distribution. Moreover, a linear regression statistical test was utilized to assess the relationship between research variables. The significance level was set at <0.05.
Results: The obtained results pointed to a significant and negative relationship between the ergonomics score and the physical condition assessment (P=0.00; R=0.60). In addition, the results highlighted the presence of skeletal-muscular disorders in different parts of the body, with the highest prevalence in the back (53.73%).
Conclusion: According to the high and negative correlation of the variables, it was found that unfavorable ergonomic conditions can lead to poor physical condition and numerous musculoskeletal consequences.
Atefeh Elyasi Gomari, Behzad Fouladi Dehaghi, Saeed Ghanbari, Abbas Mohammadi,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (12-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are widespread and important health and social problems in industrialised society, reducing productivity, increasing treatment costs and affecting the quality of life of workers. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of workload, fatigue, sleep quality and physical condition on musculoskeletal disorders among workers in the steel industry.
Methods: The present study is a descriptive and analytical study conducted on a population of 540 workers working in the steel industry in the city of Dezful. Based on simple random sampling, 400 people were selected as samples. The instruments used in this study are the Demographic Information Questionnaire, the Cornell Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire (CMDQ), the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory(SOFI), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality (PSQI) and the NASA-TLX workload index. The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) was used. Descriptive statistical indices were used to analyze the data, and the relationships between observed and hidden variables were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) The data were analyzed at a significance level of 0.05 and in SPSS software version 25.
Results: According to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, back pain ranked first with a mean and standard deviation of 52.39±25.44 and knee pain ranked second with a mean and standard deviation of 46.46±26.45, indicating that the prevalence of these disorders is high among steel industry workers. The results of the correlation analysis showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between workload, fatigue, sleep quality and body condition and musculoskeletal disorders (p<0.05). The RMSEA index of less than 0.1 shows that the model proposed in this study fits well and demonstrates the role of workload variables, fatigue, sleep quality and body position in the direct and indirect causation of musculoskeletal disorders.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that improving workplace ergonomics, reducing workload and fatigue, and improving sleep quality can reduce the likelihood of musculoskeletal disorders in workers.
Esmaeil Hani, Maryam Rafiee, Tahereh Eskandari,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (12-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Pre-hospital emergency workers who are responsible for providing essential pre-hospital medical services are exposed to physical and mental disorders. Since musculoskeletal disorders can be affected by work-related stress and fatigue, the present study aimed to assess the relationship of work-related stress and fatigue with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in pre-hospital emergency workers in Saveh.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023. A total of 88 personnel of urban and road pre-hospital emergency centers in Saveh were included in the study by the census method. Data collection tools were the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20, and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using independent t-tests, analysis of variance, Poisson regression, and Pearson correlation coefficients.
Results: The most common areas involved in musculoskeletal disorders were back (34.1%; n=30), neck (19.3%; n=17), and upper back (19.3%; n=17). Moreover, mean scores of work-related stress and work fatigue were 113.52±4.09 and 62.95±5.06, respectively. Musculoskeletal disorders showed a significant relationship with marital status, workplace, age, work experience, and number of working hours (P≤0.05). Nonetheless, there was no significant relationship between work-related stress and work fatigue (P=0.28), musculoskeletal disorders and work-related stress (P=0.93), as well as musculoskeletal disorders and work fatigue (P=0.44).
Conclusion: The prevalence of skeletal-muscular disorders was relatively high, and considering that these disorders are more frequently observed in married people and those who work on the road, training should be provided to these workers according to their place of work. The risk of developing skeletal-muscular disorders increases with age and work experience. Therefore, it is necessary to take precautions in this regard. Furthermore, since skeletal-muscular disorders increase with an increase in working hours, it is necessary to adjust working hours and avoid long shifts.
Sina Ghasemi, Behzad Imani, Ramin Rahmani, Shirdel Zandi,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (1-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders are among the common problems in most work environments and work ability is considered a factor affecting the performance and productivity of employees. In the present study, the status of these two components and their relationship with each other in the staff working in the operating room were investigated.
Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted in the winter of 2023. In this research, 96 employees working in the operating rooms of government hospitals in Hamadan, Iran were enrolled by census sampling method based on the inclusion criteria. The data were collected through the Nordic standard questionnaire and the work ability index questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) at two levels of descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (t-test) statistics.
Results: In this study, 4 (4.2%) of the participants had one musculoskeletal disorder and the remaining 91 personnel (95.8%) had more than one disorder in their musculoskeletal systems. Average work ability index was 42.3±04.91. The results of the independent t-test showed that the work ability index among people with pain in the neck (P=0.003), shoulders (P=0.001), elbows (P=0.038), back (P=0.011), knees (P=0.001), and legs (P=0.002) were less than those without pain in these organs.
Conclusion: Results indicated the need to pay more attention to the implementation of ergonomic work environment and management interventions to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and thereby increase the efficiency and effectiveness of personnel.
Zohreh Goudarzi, Sara Izadi, Abbas Seifollah Zade, Roghayyeh Hassanzadeh, Neda Mahdavi,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (1-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders are among the health challenges for faculty members, affecting their performance and work-related quality of life. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between these disorders and the ergonomic features of their workstations.
Methods: This research was conducted among 22 faculty members after obtaining informed consent and using a census method. The prevalence of disorders was assessed using the Cornell questionnaire, and the evaluation of the workstation was performed using the Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA) method. Then, 14 anthropometric dimensions (differentiated by gender) were measured, and 13 workstation characteristics were assessed. Finally, 11 criteria were used for anthropometric fitness evaluation. Moreover, data analysis was carried out using SPSS software (version 26).
Results: Approximately 46% of the participants had experienced pain and discomfort in one of the musculoskeletal areas, with the wrist, neck, shoulder, and lower back being the most affected areas, respectively. The ROSA results indicated that 22.73% of the participants' workstations required ergonomic improvements. The most significant mismatches were found in the criteria of 1) trunk length-chair backrest length, 2) thigh thickness in a seated position-distance between thighs and desk, and 3) shoulder width-chair seat width.
Conclusion: The signs of a connection between the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and the lack of anthropometric compatibility/inadequate knowledge among faculty members in the field of ergonomics were observed. This issue underscores the importance of considering ergonomic/anthropometric characteristics of office desks and chairs during the procurement of office supplies and emphasizes the need to enhance ergonomics knowledge.
Abbas Mohammadi, Behzad Fouladi Dehaghi, Fatemeh Assadian, Saeed Ghanbari,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (1-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: Cargo workers at Ahvaz Airport in Ahvaz, Iran are at risk of musculoskeletal disorders. In this regard, the present study aimed to investigate their carrying out tasks and postures.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the census method was used to select 21 cargo workers in Ahvaz Airport. Task analysis was carried out by Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) and Quick Exposure Check (QEC). Moreover, the Manual Handling Assessment Charts were used to evaluate the manual load. The tools employed in this study included observation, photography, and a Cornell Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire (CMQD) questionnaire. Statistical calculations were performed in SPSS (version 16) and Spearman's correlation coefficient for the variables.
Results: Each of the cargo workers of Ahvaz airport moves an average of 400 bags per shift. Spearman's correlation coefficient showed a significant relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and the variables of age, height, and Body Mass Index with values of 0.002, 0.005, and 0.003, respectively. The QEC method was used to observe the worst postures with a numerical score between 50 and 70, which were related to the standing posture at the flat roller and the sitting posture in the aircraft cargo. The examination of the CMQD questionnaire revealed that 61.6%, 65%, and 62% of diseases were related to shoulder, arm, and back, respectively.
Conclusion: After job analysis by the HTA method and evaluation of the results through the QEC method, it was determined that loading and arranging luggage in the cart and cargo were the most risky tasks. Both the MAC and QEC methods also indicated the necessity of an immediate change in the process of moving luggage.
Mohammad Sadegh Sohrabi,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (4-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: In the last decade in Iran, the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort among office workers has been reported in the neck, back, and shoulder areas. The present study aimed to assess the impact of ergonomic interventions in knowledge-based companies on musculoskeletal disorders, work-related stress, and quality of work life.
Methods: In this quasi-randomized controlled trial study, the participants, including 311 office workers, received ergonomic interventions at both individual and managerial levels.
Results: The implementation of individual ergonomic training interventions significantly reduced disorders in the neck, right and left shoulders, right forearm, and right wrist. Social support also demonstrated a significant increase in all three intervention groups. The interventions had a significant impact on the quality of working life. The changes in the mean quality of working life for the second and third groups in the first month of growth were significant and then continued similar to the trend of the control group.
Conclusion: The implementation of individual ergonomic training interventions significantly reduced musculoskeletal disorders in the neck, shoulders, and upper limbs. Nonetheless, management training interventions did not affect the musculoskeletal disorders of employees. Furthermore, concurrent implementation of individual ergonomics and management interventions exerted a more pronounced effect on the reduction of disorders. The implementation of management educational interventions and combined interventions led to a marked increase in the level of control experienced by participants, while both types of social support interventions also increased. The implementation of a multi-component ergonomics intervention program was demonstrated to enhance the impact of interventions on employees' health and productivity.
Mounes Khani, Aram Tirgar, Samaneh Pourhadi, Zahra Geraili,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (7-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: Considering that working with virtual education equipment increased significantly during the COVID-19 era, the purpose of this research was to investigate the association of complaints of musculoskeletal disorders with the use of electronic equipment during virtual education.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a group of students in the first four years at Babol University of Medical Sciences, whose courses were mostly presented virtually. Data collection tools included a demographic information form and the standard Nordic questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS22 software using descriptive and inferential statistical indicators, including the Chi-square statistical test. The significance level was considered at 0.05.
Results: The data obtained from 318 medical sciences students showed that 83.6% of them complained of pain in the musculoskeletal system during the past year. More than 21% of the participants had to take medicine, 19.9% needed to visit a doctor, and 4.1% had to use physiotherapy services. The results also showed there was a direct and statistically significant correlation between the frequency of complaints regarding musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in the past week and year and the level of use of virtual teaching devices (P≤0.001).
Conclusion: The expansion of virtual education in universities and the prolonged and continuous use of electronic educational equipment can be effective in increasing the frequency of complaints of musculoskeletal disorders among medical sciences students. Moreover, the lack of regular physical activity, smoking, high levels of stress, insomnia, and fatigue among medical students were also known as other effective factors.
Saeed Ilbeigi, Masoumeh Al-Eghabi, Mohammad Yousefi, Mohammad Hamed Hosseini,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (12-2024)
Abstract
Objectives: Designing one-handed carrying tasks based on biomechanical findings has a significant impact on preventing musculoskeletal injuries. The present study was conducted to investigate the muscle synergy of the trunk and pelvis in the manual carrying of loads with different weights in healthy young people.
Methods: In this experimental study, 20 male volunteers performed the walking protocol without load, carrying different weights of 5%, 10%, and 15% of their own weight during unilateral manual load carrying. The electrical activity of the trunk and pelvis muscles while carrying loads of different weights was recorded using an electromyography device (Biovision). To evaluate the differences between different load-carrying conditions, a repeated measures test was used at a significance level of P≤0.05.
Results: The results showed that in the performance of manual load carrying, there was a significant difference between muscle synergy (synergy size) in all walking protocols, including 5% and 10% of body weight and 5% and 15% of body weight and between 15% and 10% (P≤05). While in the performance of manual load carrying, a significant difference was found between muscle synergy (synergy direction) in 5% of body weight and 10% of body weight, this difference was not seen in manual load carrying with 5% of body weight and 15% of body weight and also between synergy of 15% and 10% (P≥0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that the difference in muscle synergy in terms of size in unilateral manual load carrying can, with increasing load, create more tension in the back and pelvic muscles; however, the direction or angle does not change compared to the no-load state.
Shiva Mohammadjani Kumeleh, Mohammad Amin Rashidi, Azim Akbari,
Volume 12, Issue 4 (2-2025)
Abstract
Objectives: Administrative employees are often at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders due to prolonged computer use. Additionally, frequent interactions with clients expose them to a high mental workload and job stress. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, mental workload, general health, and job stress among administrative employees to improve their working conditions.
Methods: The present work followed a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical method and was conducted on the administrative employees of an engineering company in 2021. Finally, 119 individuals participated in the study using the census method. Demographic information questionnaires, as well as Rapid Office Strain Assessment (ROSA), Cornell, NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Health and Safety Executive (HSE)-UK job stress checklists were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software, employing descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results: According to the posture assessment with the ROSA method, the average final ROSA score was 4.33±1.03. Examination of mental load with the NASA-TLX indicated that 78% had a high mental load. In addition, according to the GHQ questionnaire, the average final general health score was 24.4±11.73. Moreover, based on the HSE-UK occupational stress questionnaire, more than 80% (103 people) of employees were under severe stress, and 12% (15 people) were under critical stress. A significant relationship was observed between occupational stress, body mass index (BMI), and age (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The implementation of intervention and control measures to improve musculoskeletal disorders, workload, general health, and job stress seems to be essential.
