Prevalence and Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Pain and Coping Strategies in School Teachers

Abstract

Introduction: School teachers have high prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders which decrease productivity at work due to sick leave and absenteeism. In India, more traditional methods of teaching are used as compared to other countries, and this difference encouraged us to determine prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, risk factors and coping strategies adopted by teachers. Methods: A self-administered Questionnaire was distributed to 810 particcipants. 567 responses were received out of which 30 questionnaires were incomplete. The self-administered Questionnaire included 31 questions under 5 categories: General Profile, Occupational profile, Health/Musculoskeletal pain profile, Perceived risk factors and Coping Strategies. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, frequency were calculated for continuous and categorical variables respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association of musculoskeletal symptoms with demograpic factors and working conditions. Results: 112 (20.9%) reported having musculoskeletal pain. Low back (48.2%) was commonly affected. 50.9% had chronic pain and 71.4% reported pain interfered with occupational routine. 48.2% reported with sleep disturbances. Commonly percieved factor was standing for prolonged periods (76.8%). Risk factor analysis using logistic regression model on cause of pain showed statistical significance (χ2 (27)=77.169, p<0.005). Females were 3.952 times more likely to exhibit pain than males (OR 3.952, 95% CI 1.694- 9.217). Commonly reported coping strategy was visiting a Physiotherapist (44.6%). While 33% coped up with pain using prescribed analgesics, none of them opted to rest. Despite high prevalence and severity, only 17% had frequented absenteism to work by taking sick leave. Discussion: Prevalence rate of musculoskeletal pain was found to be higher among school teachers as per the results of this present study. Prevalence and risk factor perceptions of school teachers as reported in this study can be of significance in understanding and addressing these factors and appropriate measures to prevent and overcome them can be devised based on these results. Since the risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms can be multifactorial in nature, the results of this present study need to be correlated with all possible mechanisms related to this population and further studies to determine the effectiveness of appropriate ergonomic modifications should be taken into consideration.