Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in different body regions
The prevalence of MSD symptoms in different body regions of the workers in weaving operations during the last 12 months are presented in Table 1. The most commonly affected regions among workers in weaving operations were lower back (60.6%), ankles/feet (59.0%), knee (58.1%), and upper back (54.6%). Women were significantly more affected than men in shoulders, wrists/hands, upper back, lower back, and ankles/feet (P < 0.05). During the preceding year, due to musculoskeletal problems, 38.5% of the respondents had to visit a physician, 25.1%of the workers took medical rest, and 18.8% of them needed to use medicines continuously.
Table 1  Frequency of prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in different body regions of male and female workers in weaving during the 12 months prior to the study