Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Disorders among Rice Farmers: Cross Sectional Study in Tarnlalord Sub-District, Phimai District, Nakhonratchasima Province, Thailand

Abstract

Agricultural jobs are physically strenuous. Farmers and farm workers are at particular risk of developing symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders compared with others. Farm workers, especially rice farmer, expose to several of physical disorders activities, hazard, such as excessive bending, twisting, kneeling and carrying loads. These are activating factors associated with symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders. This is a cross-sectional design.  Two hundred and ninety participant aged between 20 to 59 years old were selected by single stage cluster sampling from group of household, while the households of rice farmer were selected by simple random sampling. Between February and March 2014, the data were collected by face- to-face interviews from general and Standard Nordic questionnaires.  The study revealed that the average ages of participants (± SD) was 47.6 ± 8.7 years old. The most common process that affecting the rice farmers were planting and transplanting process, high prevalence in shoulder pain (71.7%). They were planting and transplanting by themselves, 93.1% and 99.7%. Paddy preparation process, most rice farmers used wheel tractor machine walking along (78.3%).For harvesting, they had done by both machine and by manual with sickle (51.4%). Shoulder pain was the most reported cases in all process. The results were identified six factors that significantly associated with musculoskeletal disorders as the following: female (OR=3.180, 95% CI=1.966-5.143), abnormal BMI group (OR=0.607, 95% CI=0.377-0.977), education below high school (OR=0.535, 95% CI=0.313-0.915), non-smoker group (OR=2.169, 95% CI=1.137-4.141), farming experience 26 to 50 years (OR=2.169, 95% CI=1.350-3.483), have underlying disease (OR=2.013, 95% CI=1.202-3.372). The high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders still is not uncommon among rice farmers. The results of this study were presented that all process of rice growing affected to musculoskeletal system by several related factors. Musculoskeletal disorders mainly associated with gender, BMI, education level, smoking status, farm experience, and underlying disease. This finding suggested that the improvement farming management systems in process of rice-growing including either education or recommendation can shrink the pain of the musculoskeletal system and aid rice farmers to understand in this study area.