Prevalence and Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Disorders among Secondary Schoolteachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Omar W. Althomali, Junaid Amin, Wael Alghamdi and Daria Hussain Shaik
Additional contact information
Omar W. Althomali: Department of Physiotherapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
Junaid Amin: Department of Physiotherapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
Wael Alghamdi: Department of Nursing, College of Applied Medical Sciences, AlBaha University, AlBaha 1988, Saudi Arabia
Daria Hussain Shaik: Department of Physiotherapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most common occupational health hazards and serious health concerns among teachers. About 39% to 95% of teachers suffer from musculoskeletal pain that can lead to a decline in their performance, frequent sick leaves and early retirement, and can have a negative impact on their quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for MSDs among secondary schoolteachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an electronic survey. A self-reported and validated Arabic version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used. Participants were recruited randomly through a two-stage sampling technique. A total of 251 respondents (57.8% males and 42.2% females) returned the questionnaire. The overall prevalence of MSDs was 87.3%. Female teachers (95.3%) suffered more than their male counterparts (81.4%). The most common site was the lower back (62.55%), followed by the shoulders (53.39%) and knees (41.04%). Most of the participants (72.7%) reported MSDs in multiple sites. Binomial logistic regression predicted that smoking is a significant risk factor for lower back disorders ( p < 0.05). A high prevalence of MSDs can be due to a substantial lack of awareness and practice of ergonomics, which warrant the development of preventive strategies and educational programs.

Keywords: occupational health; pain; quality of life; sex differences; risk factors; teachers; work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs); work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6632/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6632/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6632-:d:578394

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().