Health Risk for Work-Related Shoulder Pain among Khon Kaen University Office Workers

Abstract

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of work-related
shoulder pain and associated factors among university office workers. The participants were 103 university fulltime
office workers from the Khon Kaen university. Demographic characteristics, health and nutritional status,
shoulder pain and environmental factors of the workplace were evaluated using structured questionnaires. A
physical fitness test was done and the light intensity was measured at the workplace. The proportion of
participants with shoulder pain and other parameters were assessed. Association between shoulder pain and
individual factors were identified by using the t-test for quantitative data and Chi-squared test for qualitative
data with the 95% confident interval.
The mean age and standard variance among office workers was 38.3+10.0 years. The average work
experience was 12.9+11.0 years, and the majority of participants hold a bachelor degree (79.6 %). The
average body mass index (BMI) was 22.4+3.8 kg/m2 indicating a normal nutritional status. One-month
prevalence of shoulder pain was 63.1%. The prevalence of shoulder pain among female office workers was
significantly higher (68.5%) compared to male office workers (42.9%) (p-value=0.031). The mean waist
circumference of the shoulder pain group (73.6+12.9 cm) was significantly lower than of the group not
complaining about pain (94.3+16.1 cm) (p-value=0.049). The major cause of shoulder pain, as reported by
office workers, was prolonged sitting at the working desk (80.0%). Also complains about muscle fatigue were
voiced. All participants appeared at the working place regularly. Shoulder pain was felt during working hours or
at the end of each working day. Light intensity at almost all work places (88.0%) was lower than the minimum
standard requirement (600 lux). Physical fitness test results showed that shoulder pain was significantly related
to lower muscle strength of the back and the legs in comparison to the group without pain (p-value=0.004 and
p-value=0.046).
The results indicate that work related shoulder pain of university office workers is common and it is
suggested that more attention should be given to the conditions at the working place by the office workers and
the administration. The improvement of the working environment by following work safety standards should be
considered. An important result of the study is that muscle back strength is linked to the risk of office workers
to suffer from shoulder pain.