The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in long-distance bus drivers

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) contribute to poor posture and prolonged stress and strain due to work demands and the environment.Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of WRMSDs in long-distance bus drivers.Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine the prevalence of WRMSDs among male long-distance bus drivers. Eighty-nine participants were selected from a reputable bus company in Pretoria to participate in the study. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine self-reported WRMSDs.Results: The average age of the participants was 45 years, with a mean height and weight of 1.69 m and 85.4 kg respectively. Participants in the study had a mean body mass index of 29.9 kg.m-2, categorising them as overweight. From the bus drivers who reported WRMSDs due to driving (22%), most of the pain was noted in the upper back (44%), followed by lower back (42%), neck (42%), shoulder (37%), and wrist/hand (31%). A strong, positive association existed between ankle and knee pain using Kendall’s tau-b correlation (τb = .71, p = .0001). A moderate and positive association was further noted between pain in the neck/shoulder (τb = .59, p = .0001) and upper back/shoulder (τb = .59, p = .0001).Conclusion: The greatest proportion of pain was experienced along the axial skeleton in long-distance bus drivers. Upper back pain was the most prevalent of the WRMSDs reported in these drivers.Keywords: maladroit postures; musculoskeletal pain; kinetic chain; axial skeleton; appendicular skeleto

The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in long-distance bus drivers

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) contribute to poor posture and prolonged stress and strain due to work demands and the environment.Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of WRMSDs in long-distance bus drivers.Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine the prevalence of WRMSDs among male long-distance bus drivers. Eighty-nine participants were selected from a reputable bus company in Pretoria to participate in the study. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine self-reported WRMSDs.Results: The average age of the participants was 45 years, with a mean height and weight of 1.69 m and 85.4 kg respectively. Participants in the study had a mean body mass index of 29.9 kg.m-2, categorising them as overweight. From the bus drivers who reported WRMSDs due to driving (22%), most of the pain was noted in the upper back (44%), followed by lower back (42%), neck (42%), shoulder (37%), and wrist/hand (31%). A strong, positive association existed between ankle and knee pain using Kendall’s tau-b correlation (τb = .71, p = .0001). A moderate and positive association was further noted between pain in the neck/shoulder (τb = .59, p = .0001) and upper back/shoulder (τb = .59, p = .0001).Conclusion: The greatest proportion of pain was experienced along the axial skeleton in long-distance bus drivers. Upper back pain was the most prevalent of the WRMSDs reported in these drivers

The effect of group exercise frequency on anthropometric profile of apparently healthy elderly permanently residing in institutionalised nursing homes

The aim of the study was to establish the effect of group exercise frequency on theanthropometric profiles of elderly persons living in aged care homes in the eThekwinimunicipality. A total of 100 participants, aged 60-88 years (males n = 21 and females n = 79) were selected from five aged care homes. Twenty participants from each of the five facilities were randomly selected. From the 20 participants, ten participants were randomly assigned to Group A - experimental group and 10 in Group B - observed group. Participants in Group A exercised twice a week and those in Group B exercised thrice a week for 12 weeks. The duration of each exercise session was 60 minutes. The components of the exercise programme comprised of a warm up, balance training followed by cardiorespiratory and strength training. A significant increase was noted in the sum of skinfold thickness in the group that exercised twice a week (MD = -14.78 mm, 95% CI [-28.45 mm, -2.09 mm], p = .038) (p<.05). Similar to the group that exercised twice a week, there was a small increase in sum of skinfold thickness (MD = -9.14 mm, 95% CI [-18.40 mm, .69 mm], p = .070,), post training thrice a week. The increase in skinfold thickness in the group that trained three times a week was not significant. Therefore, training thrice a week could protect against excessive body fatness, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly residing in long term care facilities.Keywords: Anthropometry, body mass index, body composition, waist to hip ratio, skinfold measurement

Incidence of work-related musculoskeletal pain among dentists in Kwa-Zulu Natal

Dentists commonly experience musculoskeletal pain during the course of their career. This study investigated the incidence and mechanism of work-related musculoskeletal pain among practising dentists in Kwa-Zulu Natal. A descriptive survey was conducted among 94 dentists, who voluntarily consented to participate in an occupational, epidemiological retrospective study. Subjects’ biographical, occupational, epidemiological and exercise history information was collected by using a validated questionnaire. All dentists in Kwa-Zulu Natal were contacted telephonically and those volunteering to participate in the study were subsequently interviewed. During the interview, subjects’ body mass and stature were measured using a portable Detecto. Subjects’ waist and hip girths were measured using an anthropometric tape measure around their anterior sacro-iliac crest (waist) and their greater trochanter (hip). In addition to collecting the anthropometric data, the dentists completed a questionnaire. The results indicated that the incidence of work-related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort among dentists was 54.26%. The most prevalent work-related musculoskeletal pain sustained by dentists was the vertebrae (49.32%), wrist (18.75%), shoulder (16.66%) and lower leg (12.5%). The mechanism of the musculoskeletal pain was attributed to the poor ergonomic work posture and work position adopted by dentists in relation to their patients. Interestingly, 45.74% of the cohort did not experience work-related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort. The dentists in the present study exercised regularly. It is concluded that vertebral musculoskeletal pain is most prevalent among dentists practising in Kwa-Zulu Natal.Key words: Musculoskeletal pain, dentists, vertebrae

A profile of Biokinetics service provided by the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, 2005-2009

Biokinetics can be viewed as an emerging member of the South African health professions in comparison to the longstanding professions of physiotherapy, chiropractics and occupational therapy which were established in 1924, 1939 and 1945, respectively. The aim of this investigation was to determine the profile of the biokinetics services provided by the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. All the patient records of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal’s biokinetics practice were categorized as follows: nature of biokinetics service provided and year of service rendered for the period of January, 2005-December, 2009. Descriptive statistics comprising mode, mean, frequency and percentages were calculated. The results indicated a 103.71% growth trend in the number of patient consultations from 2005 (n=889) to 2009 (n=1811). The primary services rendered by this biokinetics practice in order of prevalence were: health and wellness (68.07%), pre-participation assessments (17.84%), rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries (7.46%), sports evaluation of highly trained and/or elite athletes (2.70%), rehabilitation of hypokinetic disease conditions (2.38%), and rehabilitation of cardiac diseases (1.54%). There has been evidence of cross referrals for patients with cardiac and musculoskeletal dysfunction from cardiologists and orthopaedic surgeons, respectively.Key words: Biokinetics, rehabilitation, injury