Investigation of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Rebar Workers in South India

This study is aimed to identify the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in construction industry. The data collection is carried by Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and direct observations. The survey is conducted for 113 rebar workers in various construction site of Virudhunagar district in India. The mean average of age and work experience of workers are 30.51 ± 8.09 and 7.74, respectively. From the statistical analysis, it is found that 43.4% of participants were exposed to MSDs in the past 12 months. The lower back (70.8%), knee (60.2%), shoulder (49.6%), wrist (48.7%) and ankle/foot (36.3%) are found to be have higher prevalence of pain. The workers in the age group ≥ 41 years (65.9%) and workers with experience > 10 years (68.3%) were suffering from high risk of MSDs. The male rebar workers participated in the study were found to be exposed to MSDs, environmental and ergonomic hazards.