Research Information System
Medical Science Technology, vol.57, pp.61-67, 2016 (Scopus)
© Med Sci Tech, 2016.Background: Healthcare workers are at high risk for musculoskeletal system disorders. We aimed to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers and to determine whether there was any correlation between pain region and working position. We also aimed to explore the correlation between subjective and objective findings. Material/Methods: This study was conducted among healthcare workers working at Ibn-i Sina Hospital. Workers were grouped as desk-bound (Group 1) or standing (Group 2). They were then asked whether they had musculoskeletal pain at a level sufficient to force them to be absent from work at least 3 times in the last year. The musculoskeletal system was physically examined in each patient. The interview and the physical examination were performed by the same researcher. Study data were analyzed with the SPSS 15.0 software package. Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used for statistical analyses. Results: This study included 262 participants, 107 (40.8%) of them needed to be absent from work due to pain. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups (p=0.706). The most painful extremity was hand-wrist for Group 1 and neck for Group 2 (p<0.01). The most commonly encountered objective finding was Lhermitte sign in both groups. Conclusions: A full neurological examination should be performed in all patients presenting to primary care clinics for pain of any musculoskeletal region, and ergonomics education should be provided to individuals even if no objective findings are indicated by neurological examination.