Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among Jordanian physiotherapists: Prevalence and risk factors

Musculoskeletal complaints associated with work are common health problems among physiotherapists due to overload exposure and unsuitable postures.

To assess work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among Jordanian physiotherapists and investigate the factors that might increase the risk of having WMSDs among physiotherapists by using the ICF model as a guiding framework.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 139 physiotherapists. Participants' ages ranged from 23 to 61 years with 53.2% who identified as female. To assess WMSDs the Quick Exposure Check was used. Furthermore, depression, sleep, social support and job satisfaction were all assessed using Beck Depression Inventory, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, respectively. Furthermore, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), educational level, smoking status and marital status were also collected from all participants.

The results showed that the most common musculoskeletal complaints were as follows: 100% of the participants reported overload occurrence in the cervical spine, 97.9% in the lumbar spine, 96.5% in the shoulder joint, and 24.1% in the wrist joint. There was a significant negative correlation between total exposure and gender. Also, total exposure was significantly and positively correlated with BMI and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ).

This study suggests a need to increased knowledge of self-protection strategies among physiotherapists to reduce the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders. Understanding the factors that might increase WMSDs is useful for future research, quality improvement, and educational programs to reduce the rates of WMSDs among physiotherapists.