Prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among farmers involved in manual farm operations

ABSTRACT

The aim of the current investigation is to determine the risk factors affecting the musculoskeletal system of 100 manual working farmers of India. The information regarding prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. For evaluating the risk in operations, rapid entire body assessment (REBA) and rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) techniques were used. The existence of various risk factors and their influence on the MSDs were found significant during crop cutting/harvesting and weeding operations. Manual farm working postures may be exposing farmers to a substantial risk of developing MSDs in one or more body parts including lower back, fingers, hands/wrists, and shoulders. Postural analysis by RULA and REBA shows the high prevalence of MSDs which should be reduced by ergonomic interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Agriculture
• farmers
• India
• manual farm working
• musculoskeletal disorders

Acknowledgments

The scholarship granted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), India to the first author is highly acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

There is no specific funding from any provider source for this study.