Prevalence, Pattern and Impact of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders on Functional Performance of Welders in a Nigeria Rural-Urban Center

Abstract

Original Article 87 JOHE, Summer 2012; 1 (2) Prevalence, Pattern and Impact of Work-relate d Musculoskeletal Disorders on Functional Performance of Welders in a Nigeria Rural-Urban Center Gbiri CA, PhD 1* , Osho AO, PhD 1 , Olumiji A, BPT 2 1- Lecturer, Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medici ne, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria. 2- Physiotherapist, Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria. Abstract Received: April 2012, Accepted: September 2012 Background: The impact of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder s (WRMSDs) on functional performance of Nigerian Welders is unknown. This st udy investigated the prevalence, pattern and impact of WRMSDs on functional efficiency among Wel ders in Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional survey involved 177 Welders in a rural-urban area in Nigeria between January and July, 2011. The Modifi ed Maastricht musculoskeletal questionnaire was used for the study. The questionnaire was modif ied in content and was also culturally adapted. Descriptive statistics methods were used to summari ze the data. Chi-square test was used to find the impact of WMSDs on functional performance. Results: The mean age of participants was 36.46±10.02 years with working experience of 14.31±9.93 years. Majority of the participants (52. 5%) found their job physically exhaustive and were always lifting heavy objects at work. Most (98 %) had WRMSDs with 87.5% having their job affected. Low back pain was the most common WRMSDs occurring in 60.1% of the cases. WRMSDs had caused 26.2% of respondents to lose thei r jobs, while 7.4% of them changed their jobs