The Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among EMS Personnel in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among EMS personnel throughout the world. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine how common the (MSD) among the EMS personnel and its associated factors such as smoking, BMI and place of work (field-workers and hospital-workers) in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. Methods: Cross-sectional study to measure the prevalence of (MSD) among the EMS personnel. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaires were distributed to collect the data from SRCA and tertiary hospitals. The required sample size was 180 from each group.  Chi-square test was used to assess the association between the MSDs and categorical date. Results: Questionnaires of 360 participants were completed and analyzed. The most prevalent site affected was the lower back (60.3%) followed by knees (41.4%), neck (40.3%) and upper back (40%); the least frequent disorder was that of hip/thigh (10.3%). Hence, (37.2%) of the paramedics suffer low back pain during their duty. Also, BMI results have shown a prevalence of obesity (19.2%), overweight (41.4%) and only (36.1%) fall within the normal range of BMI and increased BMI is highly associated to lower back (p=0.009). Furthermore, smokers number were very high (65%) and it was associated with MSD with (P<0.05) in the lower back and knees. The result showed that there was no significant difference between work places. Conclusion: The very high prevalence of MSDs was found among paramedics.  It is suggested that paramedics have to be engaged in programs at their work place. Such as, exercise, improve the manual handling techniques and encourage smoke cessation.