Work-related musculoskeletal complaints in massage practitioners

Work-related musculoskeletal complaints (WMSCs) are induced or aggravated by work activities and/or work conditions.

The aim was to evaluate the impact of work as a massage practitioner, with a special emphasis on WMSCs.

Massage practitioners were invited to participate in the study through an advert in the rehabilitation medical clinics. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, collecting general data and questions about WMSCs.

Thirty-seven subjects (88.09%) reported pain in at least one body part in the last 4 weeks. The most common WMSCs was pain in the neck region (69.04%), followed by pain in the shoulder region (54.76%), upper back (52.38%), lower back (40.48%), wrist-hand (33.33%) and elbow (21.43%). The massage practitioners aged between 21 and 30 years old reported significantly more frequently WMSCs localized in neck, shoulders, wrist-hand, upper back and lower back.

This study shows that WMSCs are widely reported among massage practitioners. The most common complaints were reported in the neck and shoulder regions, especially in younger massage practitioners.