NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN AMONG OFFICE WORKERS DUE TO ELECTRONIC DEVICE USAGE AT WORKPLACE

Abstract

Background: Work-related neck and shoulder musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent among employees who work on electronic devices in offices for prolonged period of time. The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of neck and shoulder pain among prolong computer users at offices and association of neck/shoulder pain with gender in a metropolitan city of Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among all eligible computer office workers of Karachi (n = 500) in 2020. Data were collected using the modified Maastricht Upper Extremity Questionnaire (MUEQ) to examine neck and shoulder complaints. Data was stored and analyzed using IBM-SPSS22. Results: It was observed that over three quarters of participants with musculoskeletal system pain complaints (81%) feel the pain in neck and shoulder areas due to spending more time on the computer. There was no statistically significant relationship between gender and pain complaint (p > 0.05). Significant relationships were found between persistence of neck/shoulder pains and low-intensity physical activity workplace category (p <0.05). Conclusion: Study concludes that work-related musculoskeletal disorders with neck/shoulder pain re common among office workers working in low-intensity physical activity environment spending more time in sitting position. Our study showed that there is no association between gender and neck-shoulder musculoskeletal disorders.