Prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders in truck drivers and its associated risk factors

Abstract

Background: The main purpose of the study was to find out the different joints affected in the truck drivers and the associated-risk factors for musculoskeletal pain in this population due to the paucity of literature pertaining to Indian truck drivers.Methods: A self-administered closed-ended validated questionnaire was prepared by the researcher incorporated with Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and numeric pain rating scale and the participants were questioned using the same questionnaire and response was recorded by the researcher.Results: This study found a prevalence rate of work-related musculoskeletal pain to be 76.92% in truck drivers and the most commonly affected joints are lower back followed by the knee, shoulder and cervical spine. The factors which are found to be responsible for work related musculoskeletal pain in truck drivers are age, years of driving, number of driving days in a week, number of driving hours in a day, rest duration, posture, stress, vibration & poor condition of roads.Conclusions: It can be concluded from the results of this study that extrinsic factors do play a significant role in the causation of work-related musculoskeletal pain in truck drivers and are a leading cause for affecting the health of truck drivers and a frequent cause of sickness absenteeism.