The incidence of work-related musculoskeletal pain among administrators in a South African university

Abstract

The era of heightened computer technology use which has confined many administrators to their desks is associated with work-related musculoskeletal pain (WRMP), as well as poor quality of health and wellbeing. The incidence of WRMP and its predisposing risk factors was evaluated among staff (n=150) of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) (Pretoria West campus) who voluntarily participated in this study. Participants completed the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Their craniovertebral (CVA), craniohorizontal (CHA), sitting pelvic angles (SPA), sitting heights, and cervical and lumbar flexor-extensor muscle activity were measured in their habitual sitting and ergonomically adjusted postures. An independent t-test comparison of staff who experienced WRMP versus those without WRMP identified the following predisposing risk factors: age (36.7±10.4 vs 31.6±9.9 years), stature (163.8±12.2 vs 167.3±22.5cm), body mass index (30.7±9.5 vs 27.2±4.9kg/m2) and SPA (22.6±6.8 vs 20.1±6.3°) (p<0.05). Comparisons between their habitual sitting posture and adjusted ergonomic posture varied in sitting vertex height (128.1±6.0 vs 129.8±6.2cm), sitting trunk height (91.0±5.0 vs 94.0±5.0cm), acromionale (100.1±5.6 vs 101.8±6.4cm), ASIS (65.1±5.6 vs 66.4±5.5cm), CVA (18.2±5.1 vs 25.1±5.6°), CHA (37.2±7.5 vs 45.7±7.4°), SPA (22.6±6.8 vs 26.3±7.5°) and lumbar extensor muscle activity (1.2±3.3 vs 1.6±3.4mV) (p<0.05). The university administrators sustained WRMP predisposed by increased age, body mass, and SPA. The habitual sitting posture of participants who had WRMP differed from their ergonomically adjusted sitting posture. The findings implicate the need for university administrators to adopt ergonomic working posture to prevent or alleviate WRMP and improve productivity.