Effectiveness of ergonomics adjustment program to muscle pain in occupational hairdressers

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to determine the effectiveness of an ergonomics adjustment program on muscle pain in hairdressers. The sample size was calculated according to one-group sample size

METHODS: The quasi-experimental research. A total number of 34 participants completed the 4-week program, which included ergonomics adjustment suitable for each hairdresser such as adjusting the chair height, sitting on a chair instead of standing and applying proper postures while working.   A questionnaire on general information was used to collect demographic data. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and postural analysis were employed to record physical movements during working hours while the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) technique was used to analyze the risk of working postures for the whole body. Inferential statistics including paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were applied to analyze the data

RESULTS: The results were compared before and after improving the work methods (ergonomics intervention: workstation adjustment) of hairdressers. The results on the effectiveness of this program on muscle pain among professional hairdressers revealed that this program could decrease muscle pain in right shoulder, right elbow, both hands and wrists, upper back, and one or both knees statistically significantly (p<0.05) in the rank mean of muscle pain.

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that work conditions can be improved by applying  the ergonomic principles to align with the nature of the professional hairdressers since the program helped reduce the scores of muscle pain. Future research can apply this program to relieve muscle pain into other careers which require work-related physical activities leading to muscle pain