Abstract
Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injury and disability in the developed and developing countries. For this reason, many researchers have been conducted on MSDs and risk factor evaluation techniques. Current study was conducted among workers of a kitchen Iran university of medical sciences with the objective of determination of WMSDs prevalence. The results of this study can used in order to develop WMSDs preventive strategies in the work place and improve worker’s health status.
Materials &Methods: in this descriptive cross-sectional study, all university's kitchen members were studied. Totally, 21 workers participated. Body ness Questionnaire was used to study prevalence of WMSDs and QEC technique was applied to evaluate physical exposure to the risk factors. Picturing technique was used to collect required data from each worker and each workstation. All of the 21 workers were photographed.
Findings: 72.4% of the workers suffered from some kind of symptoms during 12 months. The highest prevalence was reported in lower back (48.2%), neck (34.4%) and upper back (26%).Furthermore, based on the results, QEC was found to be an appropriate and reliable technique for evaluating level of exposure to WMSDs risk factors.
Discussion &Conclusion: This study shows that WMSDs occurred at a high rate in the studied population. Major ergonomic problems were found to awkward postures, manual material handling and back rotation and bending .It is necessary to do some implementation of interventional and corrective measures in order to reduce the risk of WMSDs.
kohan sal S, kohpaei A, gharli por gharghani Z, habibi P, zeyaei M, gilasi H, et al . Ergonomic evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders among kitchen workers by QEC technique in the Tehran University of Medical Sciences . J. Ilam Uni. Med. Sci. 2013; 20 (5) :18-23 URL: http://sjimu.medilam.ac.ir/article-1-923-en.html