prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and associated lost work days in steel making industry

background: the study aims at clarifying prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (wmsds) among steel mak­ing workers and employees as well as associated lost work days. methods: a detailed questionnaire based on nordic ergonomic questionnaire describing work history, ergonomic condi­tions at work, sign and symptoms of musculoskeletal system with in previous12 months was applied to the investigation among1030 male workers and employees in a steel making plant in isfahan, iran, 2004. results: the prevalence of low back pain ranked top, regardless of job titles followed by knee pain. the age groups (24-35) and (34-45) manifested the most frequent number of (msds) and msds related lost workdays. conclusion: this is almost in harmony with the prevalence of msds among general population and statistics presented by bu­reau of labor statistics, the u.s department of labor.