Subjective Health Complaints and Associated Risk Factors Among Academicians

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is a common and prevalent occupational health problem mostly found among academicians, having a substantial impact on the quality of their life incurring a big economic burden in compensation cost and lost wages. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pains and the related ergonomic risk factors among university professors during classroom teaching. Here, 50 institute professors (42 men and 8 women) were evaluated for pain using the Nordic questionnaire, and postural assessment was carried out using the observational assessment method. Chi- square (χ2) test was performed to identify the association of individual and work-related factors to MSDs. The results of pain prevalence among professors for the past 12 months implies that the pain is most commonly felt in the neck (58%), right shoulder (64%), left shoulder (56%), upper back (62%), lower back (54%) and right wrist (52%). The Right Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) also identifies the ergonomic risk factors associated with different teaching postures.