Textile Workers and Musculoskeletal Disorders: An Anthropo- Medical Analysis

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are quite common work associated health problem amongsttextile workers. Work-related musculoskeletaldisorders are conditions in which: The work environment andperformance of work contribute significantly to the condition; and/or the condition is made worse or persistslonger due to working conditions, textile workers may be denied of their fundamental basic rightsand not muchimportance is given to their health. Textileworkers are among the maximumsusceptible as they must have towork for lengthy hoursor duration in perilous posture.Objectives: Present paper aims to study the anthropo-medical profile of textile workers especially in thecontext of musculoskeletal disorders among the textile workers.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 215 workers working in textile industriesespecially silk sarees (Banarsi saress) of district Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh over a period of more than threemonths. Data collection was done after taking the ethical clearance using a semi-structured interviewschedule and statistical analysis was done using SPSS.Results: The result of this study shows that there were 48.5 percent of respondents found to be sufferingfrom musculoskeletal disorders. The most common affected site was low back and shoulder. Most of theworkers experienced that their pain occurred occasionally during heavy workload.Conclusion: Hence, the musculoskeletal disorders were found to be associated in age group, sex andeducational status. So, Health problems among textile workers are one of the areas of public health concernin the country. Reducing the work strain and providing a supportive workplace environment will have afavorable impact on work productivity.