Occurrence of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among School Teachers in Eastern and Northeastern Part of India

Background: To determine the occurrence of Work related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WMSD), its prevalence and risk factors among school teachers in India. Materials and Methods: 100 questionnaires was passed out and sent to teachers of different schools ranging from primary school to higher secondary schools across Kolkata and Aizawl. 72 percent of the teachers responded. A standardized Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (DMQ) was used. Results: Neck pain was the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaint, reported by 53.52% of the respondents while chronic neck pain was not reported by the teachers. Shoulder and back pain were less prevalent than neck pain but the prevalence of chronic pain in these body sites were higher. Furthermore wrist/hand and knee pain were less prevalent than the other complaints. Working with hands above the shoulder was the highest reported risk factor (62.27%). Conclusions: School teachers are susceptible to WMSD with a significant prevalence for neck, shoulder, back, wrist/hand and knee pain. Prolonged working nature like bending the neck forward/backward or holding the neck in a Forward/backward posture, same movements with arms, hands or fingers many times, hands above the shoulder level, reaching with arms or hands and standing are important factors which affect the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders.