Musculoskeletal complaints associated with computer use and its ergonomic risks for office workers of a medical sciences university in Tehran

  Purpose: To determine the musculoskeletal complaints associated with using computer and its   ergonomic risks for office workers of a medical sciences university in Tehran.   Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a background questionnaire was used   to determine individuals and computer use habits’ characteristics. A total number of 164 office   workers of AJA University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. Musculoskeletal   complaints were assessed using standardized Nordic questionnaire, and ergonomic risk assessment   was done using rapid office strain assessment (ROSA) checklist. All data were analyzed by   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17.   Results: A number of 123 participants filled the questionnaires. The average age of participants   was 33.40 ± 6.51 years old. The most frequently reported musculoskeletal complaints were related   to neck (58.53%) and lower back (58.53%) for men and knee (66.66%), lower back (64.61%)   and neck (61.53%) for women. Based on risk assessment results, 46.34% of office workstations   were high risk. The mean ROSA final score was 5.18 ± 1.23 (high risk). The prevalence of   musculoskeletal complaints was significantly more among office workers who worked in a high   risk environment. The pains were considerable in the neck (74.54%) and lower back (80%).   Conclusion: Prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among office workers of AJA University   of Medical Sciences is high. Ergonomic interventions such as computer workstation redesign   and office ergonomics training should be considered to prevent the related health problems,   especially for high risk workstations.