Musculoskeletal Disorders among Lebanese Office Workers

摘要

Over the last twenty years, office work has been modified by the introduction of computers in the workplace. Previously, office workers were more likely to take short breaks between tasks and change posture. Increasing time constraints and pressure to get tasks done promptly leaves little time for breaks between tasks. Consequently, health issues related to intensive computer use have surfaced. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the main health problems that have been reported by office workers. A crosssectional study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among office workers at an academic institution in Lebanon. The study population comprised all full-time office workers who have been working at the academic institution for at least one year. A total of 93 office workers were interviewed. Results showed that the most reported work activity was keyboard use. Neck pain was the most frequently reported. Time pressure was a risk factor for reporting musculoskeletal pain. Workers who had to perform a number of pre-set tasks and were more likely to be working under pressure to meet deadlines were more prone to reporting shoulder and elbow pain. Workers who received overtime payments had higher odds of reporting pains; they were more likely to be working long hours and hence are more exposed to repetitive work. The findings of this study call for an intervention aimed at providing more breaks and decreasing time pressure to alleviate musculoskeletal pain among office workers.