Identifying musculoskeletal issues and associated risk factors among clay brick kiln workers

The present study is aimed to investigate the musculoskeletal issues and association of risk-factors with these problems among manual brick kiln workers. A modified Nordic Questionnaire was administered among 376 traditional brick kiln workers to collect data. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between musculoskeletal problems and risk-factors. Majority of workers (76.19%) involved in mould evacuating task reported wrist issues whereas lower back issues were reported by 62.35% of spading task workers. Age was a factor associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in the majority of the body regions. Gender was significantly associated with lower back (OR=3.71, CI: 1.51–9.11) MSDs. Spading task was associated with the wrist (OR=2.42, CI: 51.03–5.66), and lower back (OR=3.97, CI: 1.75–8.98) problems. Mould filling was a contributing factor for the wrist (OR=4.27, CI: 1.81–10.09) and knee (OR=6.88, CI: 2.40–19.70) issues. MSDs in wrist (OR=12.22, CI: 4.82–30.98) and fingers (OR=3.57, CI: 1.23–10.36) were significant in mould evacuating workers. Workers having less than 5 yr of experience were less prone to the neck (OR= 0.03, CI: 0.00–0.72) and upper back (OR=0.08, CI: 0.01–0.76) MSDs. For prevention of problems, ergonomic interventions such as workers’ training, use of protecting aids, modification in hand tools and work practices are needed.