INTRODUCTION
Indian weaving industry has traditionally been one of India's thriving sectors of mass employment. The weaving industry of India provides employment to approximately 12.5 million people, thereby, making this industry the largest provider of rural workforce.[1] Over 3,800,000 weaving industries have been built throughout India, Andhra Pradesh houses some 3,20000 weaving industries. Abundant raw materials and an unlimited supply of cheap labor have contributed to the success of weaving industry.[2] The weaving industry is supporting some 32 other sectors that include marketing, financial, transportation, hotels, and even maintenance.[3] The weaving industry in India has self-depending mechanism that includes training the young weavers, abundance of resources and capacities, thereby, helping the industry not to be dependent on the government. The manufacturing of the weaving products makes a remarkable contribution to the national GDP and even in the exports revenue. It is estimated that the Indian weaving industry would grow by 25% to over 35 million tons by the year 2013.[1]
The total weaving process encompass a wide range of tasks such as manual sorting of raw materials, carding and spinning in cord machine, dyeing by acid, and chrome dyes proceeding the actual weaving. In weaving operations, workers are exposed to dust. The job demands high attention in making designs. Fibers are boiled in a vat containing acetic acid and dye solution, washed in running water and dried, and spindles are made out of fibers. The post-weaving operations involve materials woven to clipped, embossed and carved into art designs, mending, edge bending, and finally a chemical wash being given to get finished product. Due to repetitive movements, awkward postures involved, and the nature of work demands; pre- and post-weaving activities and the actual weaving are high risk operations for developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
In the weaving industry, the weavers do the main job of weaving. Apart from weavers; majority of men, women, and children are involved in post- and pre-weaving operations. Weaving is one of the most tedious profession requiring long hours of static work.[4] In spite of national importance of weaving industry, and its impact on overall economy of the country, there have been few ergonomic studies of weavers work. Research has not focused on understanding the occupational risk factors in pre- and post-weaving operations. The present study was therefore conducted among workers involved in pre- and post-weaving operations. The main aim of the study was to elicit the role of physical and psychological work demands as risk factors for developing musculoskeletal symptoms in workers involved in weaving operations. The objectives of the study are to (i) determine the prevalence rate of musculoskeletal symptoms among workers involved in weaving operations, (ii) identify major factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in the study population, and (iii) examine the relationship between perceived physical and psychological work demands and musculoskeletal symptoms experienced in nine anatomical body regions viz., neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, upper back, lower back, hips/thighs, knees, and ankles/feet taking into consideration the impact of other potential confounding variables.