Mohammad Raza, Rajesh Kumar Bhushan, Abid Ali Khan
{"title":"Assessment of occupational musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among heavy vehicle drivers.","authors":"Mohammad Raza, Rajesh Kumar Bhushan, Abid Ali Khan","doi":"10.3233/wor-230655","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND\nProfessional driving requires long hours of work, uncomfortable seats, negotiating rough terrain and highways, and possibly minor repairs and other auxiliary transportation duties. Heavy vehicle drivers driving vehicles such as trucks, bulldozers, etc. due to such working structures are more prone to various musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and pain, which is of great concern.\n\n\nOBJECTIVES\nIn the present study, it is planned to investigate possible ergonomic risk factors such as age, weight, driving exposure, seat suspension systems, lifting heavy weights causing MSDs in drivers of various heavy vehicles. The results of the study are expected to help drivers reduce the risk of MSDs.\n\n\nMETHODS\nFor the present study, the Nordic questionnaire on musculoskeletal disorders was modified and standardized and was administered to the 48 heavy vehicle drivers randomly selected to collect the data.\n\n\nRESULTS\nThe analysis divulged that over the past 12 months, lower back pain (LBP) emerged as the most dominant pain experienced by 56% of drivers, followed by knee pain (KP) (43%) and neck pain (NP) (39%) respectively. The prevalence of shoulder pain (SP) was observed to be much lower than in previous literature. The logistic regression model further revealed that increasing age, poor suspension system and poor body posture were significantly associated with lower back pain. Additionally, a poor suspension system and lifting heavy weights had significant effect on the drivers' knee pain.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nThe results demonstrated the evident necessity for ergonomic consideration in vehicle designing and ergonomic training for heavy vehicle drivers.","PeriodicalId":506534,"journal":{"name":"Work","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Work","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-230655","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Professional driving requires long hours of work, uncomfortable seats, negotiating rough terrain and highways, and possibly minor repairs and other auxiliary transportation duties. Heavy vehicle drivers driving vehicles such as trucks, bulldozers, etc. due to such working structures are more prone to various musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and pain, which is of great concern.
OBJECTIVES
In the present study, it is planned to investigate possible ergonomic risk factors such as age, weight, driving exposure, seat suspension systems, lifting heavy weights causing MSDs in drivers of various heavy vehicles. The results of the study are expected to help drivers reduce the risk of MSDs.
METHODS
For the present study, the Nordic questionnaire on musculoskeletal disorders was modified and standardized and was administered to the 48 heavy vehicle drivers randomly selected to collect the data.
RESULTS
The analysis divulged that over the past 12 months, lower back pain (LBP) emerged as the most dominant pain experienced by 56% of drivers, followed by knee pain (KP) (43%) and neck pain (NP) (39%) respectively. The prevalence of shoulder pain (SP) was observed to be much lower than in previous literature. The logistic regression model further revealed that increasing age, poor suspension system and poor body posture were significantly associated with lower back pain. Additionally, a poor suspension system and lifting heavy weights had significant effect on the drivers' knee pain.
CONCLUSION
The results demonstrated the evident necessity for ergonomic consideration in vehicle designing and ergonomic training for heavy vehicle drivers.