Postural Discomfort among Sanitation Workers

Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries that affect muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. These injuries can develop when the same muscles are used over and over again or for a long time without taking time to rest. The chance of getting this type of injury increases if the force exerted is high and/or the job requires an awkward posture. Most work related musculoskeletal disorders are cumulative disorders, resulting from repeated exposure to high or low intensity loads over a long period of time. However, musculoskeletal disorder can also be acute traumas such as fractures that occur during an accident. These disorders mainly affect the back neck, shoulders and upper limbs, but can also affect the lower limbs. Some Musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrist are specific because of their well defined signs and symptoms. Other is non-specific because only pain or discomfort exists without evidence of a clear specific disorder. Postural stress causes discomfort in the neck, back and arms resulting in the fatigue and fidgeting. The study examined postural discomfort among sanitation workers from Lucknow district. The method adopted for data collection is interview schedule involving 180 male and female respondents from academic institutions (30 male and 30 females), hospitals (30 male and 30 females) and public places (30 male and 30 female). The results show that sanitation workers had high postural discomfort in various body parts. There was significant difference (p