Abstract

Objective: “Work-related musculoskeletal disorders” (WMSDs) is a term used to describe a painful or disabling injury to the muscles, tendons or nerves caused or aggravated by work. WMSDs are preventable or at least can be delayed. The aim of this study to determine the work related musculo-skeletal disorders and risk levels of the these factory workers.

Study Design: Cross sectional study.

Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at two textile factories in Edirne, Turkey and it involved 381 workers. The questionnaire used for data collection consisted of two parts. The first part described some socio-demographic features, working conditions and health problems of workers in the previous four weeks. In the second part, a Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) Employer Assessment worksheet was used.

Results: In the assessment of the upper limbs of the workers, the arm/wrist score (AWS) is 5.9±1.7 (3-11); neck, trunk, legs score (NTLS) is 5.3±2.5 (3-11); and total score (TS) is 5.5±1.3 (3-7). The ages of the workers are significantly associated with higher RULA scores (r=0.207, p=0.000). AWS, NTLS and TS of the women workers were found to be statistically significantly lower than for the men.

Conclusion: Musculoskeletal disorders are a common problem among textile workers. Employers can prevent WMSD hazards by properly designing the jobs or workstations and selecting the appropriate tools or equipment.