Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Distal Upper Extremities in Agriculture Workers of Uttar Pradesh

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common work-related problems among farm workers involved in sugarcane cultivation. Distal upper extremities musculoskeletal disorders (DUEMSDs) is considered as the main cause of working lost time, increased labour costs, and human injuries. This study was conducted to assess the risk factors of DUEMSDs in sugarcane workers. This descriptive study was conducted on 75 sugarcane workers of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh. The postural Discomfort analysis was used to find out the discomforts of different body parts during harvesting and planting of sugarcane. All risk factors that caused DUEMSDs were determined and risk assessment of DUEMSDs was done by the Job Strain Index (JSI) and RULA method. For the study planting and harvesting activities were selected from the sugarcane cultivation. Agricultural workers suffered from pain especially in the low back, knees, hands shoulder and neck. The average RULA score observed was 7. Strain score of right hand was 18 which is hazardous.