The prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSDs) among ultrasound professionals has been significant. National and international efforts to create industry standards have focused ...primarily on injuries in sonographers. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) have published documents related to this occupational exposure. There has also been significant attention on equipment utilization and design to help reduce the prevalence of WRMSDs. The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) developed the AIUM Practice Principles for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder in collaboration with other organizations whose members use ultrasound see Collaborating Societies and Representatives. This document supports the "Industry Standards for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Sonography" and aims to expand on these Standards to include safety practices for all health care professionals who utilize ultrasound. These professionals include members of the scientific community, a wide variety of medical professionals, and dental professionals. These ultrasound users and operators will collectively be referred to in this document as "operator(s)" except in those instances where data addressed those holding a specific job title, such as sonographer. In addition, this document will support guidance for quality improvement specific to preventing and reducing injury rates.
Introduction: COVID-19 outbreak created enormous turmoil all over the world. The health sectors were overburdened with critically ill COVID-19 patients. The load on the health sector burdened and ...fatigued the health care workers especially the nursing personnel as they were in direct contact with the symptomatic patients predominantly. In each wave, the patients’ number surged and overwhelmed the health sectors. In this study, the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) discomfort and mental exhaustion among the nursing personnel were assessed.
Methods: The duration of the study was from the end of September 2021 to March 2022. The factors that sourced the discomfort symptoms amidst and the interludes of the later waves of COVID-19 and their interrelations were also assessed here. The Modified Nordic Questionnaire and the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) were used in this study.
Results: 73.9% of subjects (N=88) reported the presence of WMSDs symptoms in at least one body region in the last one-year time period with the most prevalent discomfort in the lower back region (42%), followed by discomforts in the ankles, neck, and knee. The mean value of the total score of CSS was 33.74(±19.90) with high mean values in compulsive checking, danger, and contamination subscales. This study showed significant positive correlations between the presence of WMSD symptoms with BMI (rs=0.266, p= 0.012) and CSS total scores (rs=0.216, p=0.043).
Conclusion: Large percentages of reports on musculoskeletal discomforts with reports on mental enervation related to COVID-19 indicated weariness of the nursing personnel. The physical exhaustion due to overloading work and the interplay between mental stress and WMSDs revealed pivotal issues of concern.
AbstractWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have long been a primary cause of non-fatal injuries in construction. They involve sudden or continuous stresses on a worker’s musculoskeletal ...system (e.g., muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones) and may impair the ability of the worker to perform his or her job, or even cause permanent disability. Although assessing exposure to risk factors of WMSDs has proven to be feasible to alleviate the incidence rate of this injury, the field remains underdeveloped because of a lack of knowledge among construction professionals regarding the enabling techniques and their performance and limits. This paper reviews the available techniques for WMSD risk assessments, summarizes their benefits and limitations, and identifies areas in which further studies are still needed. Current techniques are categorized into self-report, observation, direct measurement, and remote sensing assessment. Particular interests are revealed in the wearable-sensor and vision-based techniques within the construction community. This review helps the industry to better understand the severity of WMSDs and the related risks in construction. This review also provides the construction research community with a holistic view on available techniques, their limitations, and the need for research in achieving automatic assessments on construction sites.
Introduction: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are a serious problem that can affect the health and productivity of laundry workers. Workers who experience such disorders may experience ...pain, muscle stiffness, joint inflammation, and even serious injury. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among laundry workers in North Sulawesi. Methods: This study is a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted in March 2023 – April 2023 in Minahasa District North Sulawesi Province, specifically Tondano-Tomohon City. A total sample of 225 laundry workers was taken using the convenient sampling technique. The questionnaire used to assess WMSDs was the Nordic Body Map. The chi-square test was applied to find the association between age and musculoskeletal disorders among laundry workers. Results: Complaints felt in all parts of the worker's body 5.38% were very painful, 17.81% were painful, 36.39% were rather painful, and 39.67% were not painful. The body part that experienced the most complaints of severe pain was back at 10.2%, feeling pain was the waist at 37.3%, feeling pain was the right arm at 47.1%, and no pain was the left elbow at 71.6%. Conclusion: The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among the study population was significantly associated with age, sex, nutritional status, and work experience with musculoskeletal complaints (p<0.05). While there is no relationship between work duration and education level with musculoskeletal complaints (p>0.05). Therefore, appropriate interventions need to be made to improve working conditions, protect workers' health, and minimize the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the laundry industry.
During scanning, sonographers often assume significant awkward postures which may lead to musculoskeletal pain and disability. Two exoskeletons were tested as an ergonomic intervention by ...sonographers during transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE). Four sonographers each performed TTEs using right- and left-handed scanning techniques, with and without two different passive upper extremity exoskeletons in two two-by-two experimental designs. Posture, muscle activity, and subjective discomfort scores were recorded. Of the two exoskeletons tested, the updated FLEX® design significantly reduced 10th percentile upper trapezius muscle activity during left hand scanning, while the AIRFRAME® did not impact muscle activity across all the muscles of interest. Furthermore, there was a slight decrease in the self-reported discomfort levels in their wrist and hands associated with performing TTE when wearing Exos1 compared to baseline. However, participants experienced issues with comfort, limitations on their range of motion (ROM), and interference with tasks with both exoskeletons. Collectively, the results indicate that the tested exoskeleton designs provide minimal benefit for reducing upper extremity muscle workload during TTE ultrasonography tasks.
•Upper extremity pain is predominant in cardiac sonographers.•Two commercially available exoskeletons provided minimal benefit for shoulder muscles of cardiac sonographers performing TTEs.•Upper extremity exoskeletons for cardiac sonography applications need to be designed with shallow abduction engagement angles.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are common and place large economic and social burdens on workers and their communities. We describe recent WMSD trends and patterns of WMSD incidence ...among the Washington worker population by industry.
We used Washington State's workers' compensation compensable claims from 1999 to 2013 to describe incidence and cost of WMSD claims by body part and diagnosis, and to identify high-risk industries.
WMSD claim rates declined by an estimated annual 5.4% (95% CI: 5.0-5.9%) in Washington State from 1999 to 2013, but WMSDs continue to account for over 40% of all compensable claims. High risk industries identified were Construction; Transportation and Warehousing; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Manufacturing.
As documented in other North American contexts, this study describes an important decline in the incidence of WMSDs. The Washington State workers' compensation system provides a rich data source for the surveillance of WMSDs.
Introduction: The QEC and ART methods are useful tools to identify risk factors that cause work-related musculoskeletal disorders in industries so this research was conducted with the aim of ...ergonomic evaluation of working conditions using these methods and determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in a tile industry. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, working conditions in a tile industry were evaluated using QEC and ART methods in 2023. Also, the musculoskeletal disorders of 66 workers were recorded using the Nordic questionnaire. The data were transferred to spss software (V.19) and chi-square, independent t-test, Fisher test, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the age of the studied workers was 30.6±6.11 years, work experience was 5.97±4.95 years, and their body mass index was 23.69±3.42. 68% of workers had at least one musculoskeletal discomfort. The most common discomfort was back pain (50%). There was a significant relationship between shoulder, back, leg, and wrist discomfort with work experience (P<0.05). There was also a significant relationship between discomfort in the shoulders and wrists with age (P<0.05). A positive and significant correlation was obtained between the scores of ART and QEC methods (for QEC with right ART r=0.591 P<0.001 and for QEC with left ART r=0.524 and P<0.001). Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in this industry, it is necessary to modify workstations according to the results of ART and QEC methods.
Work-related musculoskeletal injuries and disorders remain an important problem in the construction industry. Exoskeletons are an emerging wearable technology that assists or augments a user's ...physical activity or capacity. This technology is a potential solution to reduce the physical demands and fatigue experienced by construction workers and help improve worker safety, health, and performance. As a first step towards enabling exoskeleton use in construction, we captured the perspectives of construction industry stakeholders regarding adopting exoskeletons and continued use in practice. Stakeholder responses highlighted several important questions and concerns, which were grouped using qualitative content analysis into three categories: (1) expected benefits, (2) exoskeleton technology adoption factors, and (3) perceived barriers to use. Uncertainties were expressed about the practical value and usability of exoskeleton technologies, and the impact of this technology on worker safety. Given this, and the limited state of current evidence, we summarize important research gaps that need to be addressed in future for successful adoption and use of exoskeleton technologies in the construction industry.
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