Ergonomic Evaluation of Working Postures and Analysis of Relationship between Physical Activities with Musculoskeletal Disorders among Men Barbers in Karaj (Iran)

Background & Aims of the Study: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) areconsidered as major occupational health problem in the developed and developing countries. Thestudy was carried to the Ergonomic evaluation of working postures and analysis of the relationbetween physical activities with WRMSDs among men barbers in Karaj, Iran in 2016.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 80 participants were studied. Bodypostures were analyzed, using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method. In order toassess the prevalence of disorders and physical activities, standard Nordic questionnaire andBaecke physical activity questionnaire were used, respectively. Data were analyzed, usingShapiro-Wilk, Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney, Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-Square statistical tests with SPSS-20.Results: The average and standard deviation of barbers age were 36.71±6.1. The highest of theprevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among barbers were related to shoulder and waist(95%). Considering to the findings, 71.3% of the participants were at moderate risk level. Therewas also a significant relation between physical activity and the knee, wrist, waist, elbow andbuttocks/thigh (P-value<0.05).Conclusion: The results showed most prevalence of disorders is related to the upper limbs. Also,barbers with higher levels of physical activity have lower levels of WRMSDs. Based on thesefacts, corrective actions such as chair and equipment re-design, work rest cycle, training andsuitable physical practices is necessary.

Keywords:

REBA , Barbers , WRMSDs , Physical activity , Posture , Iran