Association between personal traits, labour organization and occurrence of pain in employees at a furniture manufacturer

Abstract

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are diseases that affect the soft tissues. Of an insidious and multifactor nature, they often result from ergonomic risks, and show pains as a common symptom. This study searched for possible associations between personal features, labour organization and pain incidence among employees at a furniture manufacturer in the city of Araçatuba, SP. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 158 employees from the company's different sectors in 2007, with questions addressing age and sex, labour issues (sector, seniority, position, and weekly working hours), as well as musculoskeletal pain symptoms. Pain was reported by 58.9% of the employees and significantly related to gender (p=0.0001), sector (p=0.0021), position (p=0.0135), and weekly working hours (p=0.0123). Pain was predominant in women, depending on sector, position, and weekly working hours. In order to relieve pain, most workers took medicine or simply ignored it. Results point to the need to physical therapy treatment and preventive action.