THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL AND ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE WORKPLACE ON THE PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS RELATED TO WORK AMONG PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN MONTENEGRO
Keywords:
ergonomic conditions, musculoskeletal disorders, physiotherapists, working environment, work relatedAbstract
The purpose of the article is to present the impact of physical and ergonomic assessment of the workplace on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders related to work among physiotherapists in Montenegro.
Methodology: One hundred twenty-seven physiotherapists performed the general qestionnaire and modified questionnaire of Physical-Ergonomic Workplace Evaluation. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The significance level was set up to p < 0.05.
Results: The most common problems of the working environment are related to ergonomic conditions at work, with 87.4% of respondents. The most common connection between the work environment and space is 50.4% and repetitive work in 47.2% of respondents, while lifting loads in 37.8% of respondents. Ergonomic problem associated with inadequate posture in our study was in 81.1% respondents. 52.8% of respondents were absent from work due to illness caused by conditions in the physical environment.
Conclusions: The results of our research confirmed that ergonomic working conditions affect the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders related to work in physiotherapists in Montenegro.
Recommendations: In the evaluation and ergonomic analysis of the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, it is recommended to involve a physiotherapist through four steps: physical work situation, task ranking, objective assessment and risk management.
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