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Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Building Construction Workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Sultan Ayoub Meo1, Zaid Fahad Alsaaran2, Moayad Khalid Alshehri3
1Sultan Ayoub Meo, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, Professor, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Objectives:
To investigate the work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among building construction workers.
Methods:
Total 389 apparently healthy, male volunteers were selected with mean age 34.56±8.33 years and a mean working duration in building construction as 5.76±2.68 years. Musculoskeletal complaints were recorded through a detailed clinical interview and comprehensive questionnaire.
Results:
Substantial number of building construction workers developed musculoskeletal symptoms including neck pain 29 (7.5%), shoulder pain 41(10.5%), upper back pain 24(6.2%), lower back pain 64 (16.5%), legs pain 93 (23.9%), feet pain 52 (13.4%), head heaviness 44 (11.3%) and whole body fatigue 78 (20.1%). These complaints were significantly associated with long-term duration-response in building construction industry. Furthermore, cigarette smokers had little higher percentage of musculoskeletal complaints compared to non-smoker companions.
Conclusions:
Building construction occupation is a prolific source of musculoskeletal ailments and complaints were significantly increased with long-term working duration in building construction industry.
