Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-3  Year-2016         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a cause of concern because of the ill health effects and high economic impact on businesses. Manual Material Handling (MMH) jobs are common in informal sector of developing countries. The present study was carried on the workers of a central market area in Kolkata to find out the prevalence of the MSD. 210 male MMH workers were randomly selected. Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of MSD. Working posture was analyzed by Ovako working posture analysis system (OWAS). SF12 questionnaire was used to assess the physical and mental health status. Lower back was found to be worst affected body part (68 %) followed by Knee (63%), Neck (56%) and Shoulder (41%). The Physical composite score (PCS) and Mental composite score (MCS) were found to be 39.7 ± 9.11 and 46.0 ± 9.17 respectively. PCS, MCS and Frequency of lifting were found to be significant predictors of pain intensity rating. The regression model was able to predict 22.7% of the variability in the scores of the pain intensity rating. It was concluded awkward postures along with the heavy load lead to the development of musculoskeletal disorders.

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