Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in female cultivators

INTRODUCTION: Musculoskeletal disorder is one of the major health hazards among agricultural workers. Rural women contribute to agricultural development and household activities and pursue multiple livelihood strategies. Female cultivators' studies on work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are limited. OBJECTIVES: To verify the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in female cultivators from Ambala, Haryana, India. Materials and methods: 200 female cultivators aged 20-50 years with the ability to read and understand Hindi and having cultivation experience of more than two-year were recruited by non-probabilistic sampling for this cross-sectional study. Hindi version of the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to study the prevalence of WRMSDs in female cultivators. Demographic characteristics were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders was presented as frequency and percentage. A confidence interval was also reported. RESULTS: The yearly prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder in the female cultivators was highest in low back region (57.0%) followed by knee joint (30.5%), shoulder joint (16.5%), wrist/hand (9.5%), neck (9.0%), elbow (6.5%), ankle/foot (2.5%), thighs/pelvis (2.5%) and upper back (2.0%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of WRMSDs in female cultivators of Ambala, Haryana, India, is high. Low back, knee and shoulder were the most affected regions among this population.