Musculoskeletal symptom survey among cement drillers

Abstract

Background and Aim: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are common in the miners.Concerns were raised about the possibility of a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptomsamong cement drillers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletalsymptoms among this group.Method: Across-sectional study of 44 drillers and office workers (control group) were carried outusing a modified version of the Nordic questionnaire. Prevalence was determined by the percentof positive responses to musculoskeletal symptoms questions.Results: The commonest musculoskeletal symptoms were from the low back (81.8%) andwrist/hand (72.7%), which was also the most common reason for missing work (54.5 and 54.4%,respectively). Musculoskeletal symptoms are a significant problem between drillers and officeworkers (p<0.01-0.0001).Conclusion: Reducing the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in the drillersshould be a primary goal for labor organizations, associations and the public health community.The supervisors should encourage workers to change postures since working in the same positionfor long periods was associated with musculoskeletal symptoms.

Keywords

• Musculoskeletal disorders
• drillers
• posture
• cement
• ergonomicy