Prevalence, Pattern and Impact of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders on Functional Performance of Welders in a Nigeria Rural-Urban Center

  Background: The impact of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSDs) on functional performance of Nigerian Welders is unknown. This study investigated the prevalence, pattern and impact of WRMSDs on functional efficiency among Welders in Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, Nigeria.   Materials and Methods: This cross sectional survey involved 177 Welders in a rural-urban area in Nigeria between January and July, 2011. The Modified Maastricht musculoskeletal questionnaire was used for the study. The questionnaire was modified in content and was also culturally adapted. Descriptive statistics methods were used to summarize the data. Chi-square test was used to find the impact of WMSDs on functional performance.   Results: The mean age of participants was 36.46±10.02 years with working experience of 14.31±9.93 years. Majority of the participants (52.5%) found their job physically exhaustive and were always lifting heavy objects at work. Most (98%) had WRMSDs with 87.5% having their job affected. Low back pain was the most common WRMSDs occurring in 60.1% of the cases. WRMSDs had caused 26.2% of respondents to lose their jobs, while 7.4% of them changed their jobs.   Conclusions: There is high prevalence of WRMSDs among Welders. Low back pains followed by neck and shoulder pains were the most prevalent WRMSDs among Nigerian Welders in rural-urban areas. WRMSDs have negative impact on job performance, leisure activities and family roles among Nigeria Welders in the study areas.