Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Traditional Weavers of Districts of Arunachal Pradesh - A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Weaving is the second biggest source of income after agriculture and remains
important to India’s economy with roughly 4.3 million people involved, of which 61% are from North-East
India. Arunachal Pradesh, one of the North-East states has its own unique method of weaving where it
demands long sitting without back support for hours that can develop Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD).
Thus, the study aims to estimate the prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMD) and
severity of disability due to Low Back Pain (LBP) among traditional weavers of Arunachal Pradesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in five districts of Arunachal Pradesh. 210 traditional
weavers were randomly selected. Subjects were screened for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders
(WRMD) using Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) following which, the weavers that reported
Low Back Pain (LBP) were screened for the severity of disability using Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain
Disability Questionnaire (M-OSW). Results obtained were statistically analysed using SPSS 25.0.
Results: The result showed highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder in lower back, of which 79.2%
had trouble in last 12 months, 69.7% was having trouble during last 7 days and 62.9% were prevented
from doing normal activities during last 12 months. A total of 36.6% had mild disability, 60.6% moderate
disability and 2.8% severe disability due to low back pain.
Conclusion: This study concluded that, prolong work exposure and awkward work postural demand
increases the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.