Analysis for prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in shocker manufacturing workers

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most commonly reported work-related musculoskeletal disorder of the upper extremity. In this communication, a comparison of CTS and associated risk factors amongst traditional and semi-ergonomic shocker manufacturing assembly line workers in the actual industrial environment has been studied through questionnaire and physical tests. Fishers exact test and Surface electromyography (sEMG) signal values have been used for statistical data analysis. Symptoms present are numbness (in 80 % of traditional and in 16.66 % of semi-ergonomic), tingling (in 50 % of traditional and in 8.33 % of semi-ergonomic), and difficulty in grasping (in 80 % of traditional and 20 % of semi-ergonomic). Tinels and Phalens sign also show an almost similar trend. The results reflect that the traditional shocker manufacturing workers have more CTS symptoms occurrence than the semi-ergonomic shocker manufacturing workers. The sEMG signal analysis result reveals that the lesser muscle activity values (EMG-RMS values) indicate the contribution of CTS symptom in shocker assembly line workers. It is found that there is a significant difference in EMG-RMS values of CTS symptoms and control subjects in traditional and semi-ergonomic shocker manufacturing industries. It is observed that if a subject is affected with CTS symptoms, then the sEMG signal value is 0.01223 mV in case of traditional and 0.02625 mV in case of semi-ergonomic shocker assembly, and for control subjects sEMG signal value is 0.15614 mV in traditional and 0.17563 mV in case of semi-ergonomic shocker assembly.