CASE STUDY-3

MUSCULOSKELETAL PROBLEMS
AMONG VDU WORKERS IN A HONG
KONG BANK
A survey of musculoskeletal problems among visual display unit (VDU)
users was carried out in a bank among 100 people using a selfadministered questionnaire.
The prevalence of complaints in various body parts were:
NECK

BACK SHOULDER HAND/

WRIST

ARM

31.4%
30.6%
16.5%
14.9%
6.6%
Frequent users of VDU had significantly more musculoskeletal
problems in the neck and shoulder regions than infrequent users.
Back, neck and shoulder problems were more related to unfavourable
working postures, while arm, hand and wrist problems were more
affected by repetitive movements.

Source: Department of Community and Family Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

CASE STUDY-2
MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN
ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF
COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN NIGERIA.
Computer related musculoskeletal disorders affect millions of
computer users yearly in developed nations as reported in the
literature.
WHAT WAS DONE:
A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from
computer users across six federal university campuses in
Nigeria.
The questions requested the respondents to provide information
on age, sex, years of computer usage, hour spent on
computer per week, associated musculoskeletal pain, pain
severity and knowledge of preventive measures.
1041 questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULT:
HIGHEST PAIN
COMPLAINT

LOW BACK PAIN NECK

PAIN
74%

73%

WRIST
PAIN
67%

FINGER SHOULDER
PAIN
PAIN
65%

63%

BODY
PAIN
61%

The knee and foot pains were the least reported complaints
with 26% and 25% respectively.
In terms of pain severity, low back pain, finger pain, neck pain
and shoulder pain are rated to be moderate, while all other
joints were said to be of mild pain.

Source: Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

CASE-1
MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS AMONG
UNIVERSITY STUDENT COMPUTER
USERS

OBJECTIVE:
They carried out a cross-sectional survey to estimate the
prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among university
students

Using personal computers and to investigate the features of

occupational exposure and the prevalence of symptoms
throughout the study course.
Another objective was to assess the students' level of
knowledge of computer ergonomics and the relevant health
risks.

METHOD:

A questionnaire was distributed to 183 students attending the

lectures for second and fourth year courses of the Faculty of
Architecture.
Data concerning:
personal characteristics
ergonomic and organizational aspects of computer use
The presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and
upper limbs were collected.

Exposure to risk factors such as:

Daily duration of computer use
Time spent at the computer without breaks
Duration of mouse use
Poor workstation ergonomics
was significantly higher among students of the fourth year course.
MOST
COMMONLY
REPORTED
SYMPTOM
NECK PAIN
69%

HAND/WRIST SHOULDER
53%

49%

ARM
8%

The prevalence of symptoms in the neck and hand/wrist area was

significantly higher in the students of the fourth year course.
Source:Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, 100 Oakdale
Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. fred-gerr@uiowa.edu

REF
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8854704
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15912010
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19263870