Frequency of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nurses Working in Hospitals of Lahore

Nurses regularly perform activities that are repetitive and include direct interaction with the patient. Such activities are the major cause of the work related musculoskeletal problems. A descriptive study was conducted among nurses in different hospitals of Lahore. Convenient sampling technique was used. Nordic questionnaire was distributed among 195 respondents to collect data. Data was analyzed through SPSS, Mean and standard deviation was calculated for quantitative variables while frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. During last 12 months pain was experienced most frequently in low back (49.7 %) followed by shoulder (35.4 %) by the nurses. The least frequently involved region of pain was elbow (15.9 %). Most of the participant respondents responded difficulty in performing any activities in last 12 months due to symptoms in lower back (45.6 %), followed by neck (29.2 %). Our study revealed that nurses while performing their activities face different types of musculoskeletal disorders due to their nature of profession. Most commonly involved regions were lumbo sacral region (low back pain), shoulder and neck.