An ergonomic study on the assessment of work related musculoskeletal disorder risks among agriculture workers of Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Safety of the workers and productivity of work in rice cultivation is impacted by the human drudgery. Musculoskel-etal disorders (MSDs) are the most common work-related problems among farm workers involved in rice transplanting activity. The main aims of the present study were to investigate the causation of discomfort related to working postures and to assess the work related musculoskeletal disorder among the farmers. For this study, 60 agricultural workers aged 25-45 years were selected randomly from the Kalinagar Village of Udham Singh District of Uttarakhand and a detailed posture analysis was performed among them by REBA and VAS methods. For the study, only uprooting and transplanting activity were selected from the rice cultivation activity. Agricultural workers suffered from pain especially in the low back, knees, hands shoulder and neck. The average REBA score observed was 10. Prolonged work activity, high repetitiveness, and remaining constantly in an awkward posture for a prolonged period of time etc. were the major factors of drudgery, acute pain and discomfort among farm workers.