Musculoskeletal Status and Quality of Life among Faculty Members of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2019

Background: Musculoskeletal diseases are often studied in people with hard occupations, such as in factory workers, but they are less often studied in people with intellectual occupations. Accordingly, this study aims to examine musculoskeletal diseases and their relationship with quality of life among faculty members of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS) to design corrective exercise and decrease disorders. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in 2019, in which 71 out of 179 faculty members of RUMS participated. Also, the participants level of physical and mental health was assessed using the standard SF-36 questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Results: The results of the study showed that lordosis and forward head angle were the most prevalent disorders observed in %94 and %97 of the participants, respectively. However, the subjects had negligible spinal and pelvic tilts as well. The Pearson s correlation results showed a significant positive correlation between abnormalities of shoulder tilt, forward head angle, and lordosis. It was also found that with an increase in kyphosis, shoulder, and spine disorders, the participants’ level of physical and mental health decreased. Conclusions: Our results showed that although the work done by the faculty members was very physical in nature, the rate of some musculoskeletal diseases, such as lordosis and forward head angle, was high among them. Therefore, it seems necessary to do necessary planning, such as designing exercise as well as modifying movement patterns, to prevent and to reduce these disorders.