Síntomas y factores ergonómicos asociados con trastornos musculoesqueléticos (TME) en una población de trabajadores administrativos de una empresa de servicios, 2015

Abstract

Introduction. Musculoskeletal Disorders are injuries to muscles, tendons, nerves and joints whose main symptom is pain and occur with great frequency in jobs which are physical demanding or as a result of poor posture sustained for long periods of time activity. Objective. To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and their association with ergonomic factors at the workplace in a population of administrative workers from a service company in Bogotá, Colombia in 2015. Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted. A secondary data were analyzed in a database of a population of 450 workers belonging to the administrative area of a service company, of which 150 records were full information on the study variables were included. They were taken into sociodemographic, occupational and the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms variables account. It also included the recording of work station conditions collected through inspections of job spaces (by photographic and standardized format for observed conditions). A descriptive analysis was performed assessing the central tendency measures for quantitative variables and frequency distribution for qualitative variables. Results. There is a predominance for the female gender (56%) within the population, with an age average of 35 for both genders (DS ± 7.0, 75%), referring neck pain as the main symptom (17%) and wrist (11%) and lumbar (9%) pain as secondary symptoms. The most frequent position is Executive (80%), responsible for complex and specialized administrative duties and/or direct supervision. Female study population 76% working in the executive office. The ergonomic considerations most frequent to be improved, were screen height and distance (42%) and loose cables (30%). The symptoms were more frequent on the 31 to 45 age range. Conclusion. This study found that the most frequent musculoskeletal symptoms were in the axial segment (neck and lower back) and in hand and that there are ergonomic conditions such as loose wires and height and distance from the screen as prevalent findings in the symptomatic group. The implementation of prevention programs TME, case surveillance and intervention conditions jobs is necessary and should promote the participation of workers in the identification and promotion of healthy behaviors in the workplace and prevention of conditions that favor the emergence of biomechanical risk.