Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs
Open Access

Research Article

Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Self Employed Sewing Machine Operators in Maiduguri, Nigeria

¹Department of Physiotherapy, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria

²Department of Education, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

³Department of Nursing Services, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author:

Maduagwu Stanley M
Department of Physiotherapy
University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital
Maiduguri, Nigeria
Tel: +2348034998207
E-mail: stmanofpeace@gmail.com

Received date: October 20, 2015 Accepted date: October 30, 2015 Published date: November 11, 2015

Citation: Maduagwu SM, Sokunbi GO, Bwala MP, Akanbi OA, Jajere AM, et al.(2015) Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Self-employed Sewing Machine Operators in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Occup Med Health Aff 3:219. doi: 10.4172/2329-6879.1000219

Copyright: © 2015 Maduagwu SM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background: Globally, studies on prevalence of WMSDs focused mainly on populations in organized industrial sectors and professions. Purpose: This study was therefore designed to determine the prevalence of WMSDs, risk factors and coping strategies for this disorder among self-employed sewing machine operators in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Method: Close-ended structured questionnaire, drafted and modified from the short version of the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for investigating work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in working populations was used for the study. Copies of this questionnaire were administered on willing and volunteer self-employed sewing machine operators in Maiduguri using a non-probability sampling of convenience technique.

Results: Two hundred and nineteen copies of the questionnaire out of 247 administered were duly completed and retrieved. Ninety five out of the 219 respondents reported WMSDs, giving a prevalence of 43.4%. Mean and age range in years of the respondents were 30.03 ± 11.99 and 11-72 respectively. Majority (81.2%) of the respondents was in the age range of 11-40 years and males accounted for 63.9%. Weak significant association (p<0.05; p=0.042) in prevalence of WMSDs existed among the age groups. Lower back (41.7%) and neck (34.7%) were the most affected body parts.

Conclusion: Majority of the respondents suffering from WMSDs were able to identify correctly the risk factors of this condition. This implies that this population may easily adjust to proper ergonomic measures if introduced to them.

Keywords