[Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in nursing professionals]

A cross-sectional study estimated the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nursing assistants in Salvador, Bahia. Three hundred and eight workers, randomly selected, answered a questionnaire applied by trained interviewers during working hours. The majority of respondents worked the day shift and did not usually work overtime. About 34% reported having another regular job. Average time in the formal or informal labor market was 19 years. There was high occupational exposure to repetitive hand movements, standing posture, walking, inadequate postures of the trunk and manual handling of loads. The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in at least one body segment was 83.4%.The most affected body segments were: low back (53.9%), legs (51.9%), neck (36.4%), upper back (35.7%) and shoulders (33.8%). There was high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the studied population, which points out to the need for improvements in the working conditions of those professionals.