Assessing Cumulative Musculoskeletal Strain in Automotive Mechanics: Insights from Real-World Occupational Analysis
Parole chiave:
Cumulative load, Automotive mechanics, Musculoskeletal DisordersAbstract
Background: This cross-sectional study aims to assess cumulative loads affecting the lower back, shoulders, and distal upper extremities among automotive mechanics. Methods: The survey was conducted in automotive repair workshops in Shiraz, involving 157 independent mechanics selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a multiple-questionnaire including the Persian Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (P-CMDQ), the Lifting Fatigue Failure Tool (LiFFT), the Shoulder Work Assessment Tool (SWAT), and the Distal Upper Extremity Tool (DUET). Descriptive statistics were used to assess musculoskeletal discomfort, and Partial correlation analyses, adjusted for age and Body Mass Index (BMI), examined the relationships between risk levels from LiFFT, SWAT, and DUET and discomfort reported in the P-CMDQ. Results: The results showed a high level of musculoskeletal discomfort, especially in the lower back, shoulders, and hands. Risk assessments indicated that the cumulative loads are in the high range for the lower back in 42.7% of cases, the shoulders in 40.8%, and the distal upper extremities in 36.3%. A strong correlation was observed between cumulative load on the lower back and perceived discomfort in this region (r = 0.730), whereas the correlations for the shoulders (r = 0.611) and distal upper extremities (r = 0.537) were moderate. Conclusions: The findings highlight the significant influence of workplace factors on the musculoskeletal health of automotive mechanics, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures and ergonomic solutions to enhance their health and productivity.
Riferimenti bibliografici
1. Wadsworth E, Walters D. Safety and Health at the Heart of the Future of Work: Building on 100 Years of Experience. International Labour Organization; 2019 978-92-2-133152-0. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_686645.pdf
2. Industrial Hygiene. Occupational Safety and Health Administration; 1998. https://www.osha.gov/publications/OSHA3143
3. Carrillo-Castrillo JA, Pérez-Mira V, Pardo-Ferreira MdC, Rubio-Romero JC. Analysis of required investigations of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Spain. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(10):1682. Doi: 10.3390/ijerph16101682
4. Arghami S, Kalantari R, Ahmadi Kionani E, Zanjirani Farahani A, Kamrani M. Assessing prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in women workers in an automobile manufacturing assembly line. J Hum Environ Health Promot. 2016;1(2):75-79. Doi: jhehp/article-1-28-en.html
5. Ribeiro T, Serranheira F, Loureiro H. Work related musculoskeletal disorders in primary health care nurses. Appl Nurs Res. 2017;33:72-77. Doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2016.09.003
6. Luttmann A, Jager M, Griefahn B, Caffier G, Liebers F. Preventing musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. Protecting Workers’ Health Series, No 5. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2003.
7. Introduction to work related musculoskeletal disorders. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.; 2007
8. Piedrahita H. Costs of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in developing countries: Colombia case. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2006;12(4):379-386. Doi: 10.1080/10803548.2006.11076696
9. Long MH, Johnston V, Bogossian F. Work-related upper quadrant musculoskeletal disorders in midwives, nurses and physicians: A systematic review of risk factors and functional consequences. Appl Ergon. 2012;43(3):455-467. Doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2011.07.002
10. Al-Hourani Z, Nazzal M, Khader Y, Almhdawi K, Bibars AR. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among Jordanian dental technicians: Prevalence and associated factors. Work. 2017;56(4):617-623. Doi: 10.3233/WOR-172524
11. Chinedu OO, Henry AT, Nene JJ, Okwudili JD. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among office workers in higher education institutions: A cross-sectional study. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2020;30(5):715-724. Doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v30i5.10
12. Zhang H, Deng H, Jia N, et al. Epidemiological study of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and related risk factors among automobile maintenance workers. Work. 2023;76(3):1219-1231. Doi: 10.3233/WOR-220412
13. Abaraogu UO, Ezema CI, Igwe S, Egwuonwu AV, Okafor UC. Work-related back discomfort and associated factors among automotive maintenance mechanics in Eastern Nigeria: a cross sectional study. Work. 2016;53(4):813-823. Doi: 10.3233/WOR-162247
14. Hafez KA. Occupational discomfort and injuries among automotive technicians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Work. 2022;73(4):1203-1216. Doi: 10.3233/WOR-210522
15. Hembecker PK, Reis DC, Konrath AC, Gontijo LA, Merino EA. Investigation of musculoskeletal symptoms in a manufacturing company in Brazil: a cross-sectional study. Braz J Phys Ther. 2017;21(3):175-183. Doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.03.014
16. Oliver Hernández C, Li S, Aguado Benedí MJ, Mateo Rodríguez I. New challenges regarding the intervention of musculoskeletal risk in truck service garages. Sustainability. 2021;14(1):181. Doi: 10.3390/su14010181
17. He X, Xiao B, Wu J, Chen C, Li W, Yan M. Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers in the automobile manufacturing industry in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):2042. doi:10.1186/s12889-023-16896-x
18. Tamene A, Mulugeta H, Ashenafi T, Thygerson SM. Musculoskeletal disorders and associated factors among vehicle repair workers in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia. J Environ Public Health. 2020;2020(1):9472357. Doi: 10.1155/2020/9472357
19. Patel B, Patel M, Parmar A, Rathor D. Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Pain among Garage Workers of Bharuch District: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Int J Health Sci Res. 2023. Doi: 10.52403/ijhsr.20230735
20. Coenen P, Kingma I, Boot CR, Bongers PM, van Dieën JH. Cumulative mechanical low-back load at work is a determinant of low-back pain. Occup Environ Med. 2014;71(5):332-337. Doi: 10.1136/oemed-2013-101862
21. Johnen L, Schaub M, Mertens A, Nitsch V, Brandl C. Can cumulative loading estimates be used to assess the collective occupational risk of MSD? Evaluation of calculation methods for spinal cumulative loading. Int J Ind Ergon. 2022;92:103361. Doi: 10.1016/j.ergon.2022.103361
22. Bani Hani D, Huangfu R, Sesek R, Schall Jr MC, Davis GA, Gallagher S. Development and validation of a cumulative exposure shoulder risk assessment tool based on fatigue failure theory. Ergonomics. 2021;64(1):39-54. Doi: 10.1080/00140139.2020.1811399
23. Gallagher S, Schall Jr MC, Sesek RF, Huangfu R. Validation of A Fatigue Failure-based Risk Assessment Tool for Distal Upper Extremity MSDs. SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA; 2017:911-913.
24. Gallagher S, Sesek RF, Schall Jr MC, Huangfu R. Development and validation of an easy-to-use risk assessment tool for cumulative low back loading: The Lifting Fatigue Failure Tool (LiFFT). Appl Ergon. 2017;63:142-150. Doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.04.016
25. Hedge A, Morimoto S, Mccrobie D. Effects of keyboard tray geometry on upper body posture and comfort. Ergonomics. 1999;42(10):1333-1349. Doi :10.1080/001401399184983
26. Afifehzadeh-Kashani H, Choobineh A, Bakand S, Gohari M, Abbastabar H, Moshtaghi P. Validity and reliability of farsi version of Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ). Iran Occup Health. 2011;7(4): 69-75.
27. Marras WS, Lavender SA, Leurgans SE, et al. The role of dynamic three-dimensional trunk motion in occupationally related. Spine. 1993;18(5):617-628. Doi: 10.1097/00007632-199304000-00015
28. Gallagher S, Schall MC Jr. Musculoskeletal disorders as a fatigue failure process: evidence, implications and research needs. Ergonomics. 2017;60(2):255-269. Doi: 10.1080/00140139.2016.1208848.
29. Robertson RJ, Goss FL, Rutkowski J, et al. Concurrent validation of the OMNI perceived exertion scale for resistance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exer. 2003;35(2):333-341. Doi: 10.1249/01.mss.0000048831.15016.2a
30. Steven Moore J, Garg A. The strain index: a proposed method to analyze jobs for risk of distal upper extremity disorders. Am Ind Hyg Ass J. 1995;56(5):443-458. Doi: 10.1080/15428119591016863
31. Chiorri C, Garbarino S, Bracco F, Magnavita N. Personality traits moderate the effect of workload sources on perceived workload in flying column police officers. Frontiers in psychology. 2015;6:1835. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01835
32. Eynipour A, Arjmand N, Dianat I, Soltanian AR, Heidarimoghadam R. Assessing Musculoskeletal Disorder Risks in an Automobile Part Manufacturing Factory: A Comparison Study of Biomechanical and Ergonomic Tools. Health Scope. 2024;13(2). Doi: 10.5812/healthscope-139610
33. Boini S, Colin R, Grzebyk M. Effect of occupational safety and health education received during schooling on the incidence of workplace injuries in the first 2 years of occupational life: a prospective study. BMJ Open. 2017;7(7):e015100. Doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015100
34. Torp S, Riise T, Moen B. Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among car mechanics: a descriptive study. Occup Med. 1996;46(6):407-413. Doi: 10.1093/occmed/46.6.407
35. Alqhtani R, Ahmed H, Alshahrani A, Khan A, Khan A. Effects of whole-body stretching exercise during lunch break for reducing musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion among healthcare professionals. Medicina. 2023;59(5):910. Doi: 10.3390/medicina59050910
36. Gasibat Q, Rani B, Causevic D, et al. Impact of stretching exercises on work-related musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review. Int J Kinesiol Sport Sci. 2023;11(3):8-22. Doi: 10.7575/aiac.ijkss.v.11n.3p.8
37. Mehdizadeh A, Vinel A, Hu Q, Schall Jr M, Gallagher S, Sesek R. Job rotation and work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a fatigue-failure perspective. Ergonomics. 2020;63(4):461-476. Doi: 10.1080/00140139.2020.1717644
38. Comper M, Padula R. The effectiveness of job rotation to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders: protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2014;15:1-6. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-15-170
Dowloads
Fascicolo
Sezione
Licenza
All Journal's articles are Open Access papers distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.