Prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Pains and Their Association with Body Posture, Work-related Stress, Mental Health, and Psychological Flexibility among the Employees of an Industrial Company

Work-related musculoskeletal pains (WMSPs) are considered one of the major factors affecting the quantity and quality of work and threatening the physical and psychological health of employees. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and prediction of WMSPs based on body posture, work-related stress, mental health, and psychological flexibility among the employees of an industrial company in Shiraz.

To this end, among the employees of an industrial company in 2023, 147 people (51 women and 96 men) were selected and evaluated by 1. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, 2. Quick Exposure Check, 3. Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire, 4. General Health Questionnaire, and 5. Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 26) using regression analysis test.

Descriptive findings demonstrated that the most common WMSPs in the sample group were back pain(76.19%), neck pain (69.38%), and lower back pain (56.46). Moreover, the mean hours of physical exercise per week were significantly associated with WMSPs (P<0.05). Based on the findings, body posture had the greatest ability to predict neck, shoulder, hand, and back pain (P<0.01). Furthermore, work-related stress, mental health, and psychological flexibility significantly predicted WMSPs (P<0.05).

As evidenced by the obtained results,  body posture education may contribute greatly to the mitigation of WMSPs.Moreover, work-related stress management and the promotion of employees’ psychological flexibility will reduce WMSPs.