Burden of shoulder and/neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia

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Abstract

Background

Shoulder and neck pain are reported as the most common occupational-related health problem and cause of morbidity, absenteeism from work among school teachers worldwide. School teachers represent an occupational group, who are exposed and appears to have prevalent shoulder and/or neck pain due to their daily work tasks and the nature of work. There is a scant epidemiological study regarding shoulder and neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was set out to assess the prevalence and associated factors of shoulder and/or neck pain among school teachers of Gondar town in North West Ethiopia.

Method

An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2016 to January 2017, a structured questionnaire adapted from the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was distributed to 848 primary and secondary school teachers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. To assess the burden of shoulder and/neck pain, data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and physical measures like height and weight were also measured during data collection. Independent variables which had significant association were identified using logistic regression model.

Result

A total of 754 teachers participated, with a mean age of 42 ± 9.73 years (88.9% response rate). Previous 12 months self-reported prevalence of shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers was 57.3% with 95%CI (53.4–61.0%). Regular physical exercise (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08–0.42), teaching experience (OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.09–7.42), static head down posture (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.55–3.33), elevated arm over shoulder (OR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.86–3.95), prolonged sitting (OR = 1.50,95% CI: 1.02–2.23) and hypertension (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.24–3.82) were factors found to be significantly associated with shoulder and/neck pain.

Conclusion and recommendation

More than half of the study participants self-reported to have suffered shoulder and neck pain in the previous 12 months. Teaching experience, static head down posture, elevated arm over shoulder, and hypertension are likely to be significantly associated with shoulder and/ neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia. Engaging in regular physical exercise has a protective effect against the shoulder and/or neck pain. Therefore, school authorities are recommended to provide facilities to enhance physical activity among school teachers and also provide adjustable board and classroom materials.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-019-2397-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Most cited references 24

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Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain among school teachers in China, prevalence and risk factors

Pengying Yue, Fengying Liu, Liping Li (2012)

Background School teachers represent an occupational group among which there appears to be a high prevalence of neck and/or shoulder pain (NSP) and low back pain (LBP). Epidemiological data on NSP and LBP in Chinese teachers are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for NSP and LBP among primary, secondary and high school teachers. Methods In a cross-sectional study of teachers from 7 schools, information on participant demographics, work characteristics, occupational factors and musculoskeletal symptoms and pain were collected. Results Among 893 teachers, the prevalence of NSP and LBP was 48.7% and 45.6% respectively. There was significant association between the level and prevalence of NSP and LBP among teachers in different schools. The prevalence of NSP among female teachers was much higher than that for males. Self-reported NSP was associated with physical exercise (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.86), prolonged standing (1.74, 1.03 to 2.95), sitting (1.76, 1.23 to 2.52) and static posture (2.25, 1.56 to 3.24), and uncomfortable back support (1.77, 1.23 to 2.55). LBP was more consistently associated with twisting posture (1.93, 1.30 to 2.87), uncomfortable back support (1.62, 1.13 to 2.32) and prolonged sitting (1.42, 1.00 to 2.02) and static posture (1.60, 1.11 to 2.31). Conclusions NSP and LBP are common among teachers. There were strong associations with different individual, ergonomic, and occupational factors.

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Chronic neck and shoulder pain, age, and working conditions: longitudinal results from a large random sample in France.

Kaila J Norton, B Cassou, A Touranchet … (2002)

To analyse the effects of age and occupational factors on both the incidence and the disappearance of chronic neck and shoulder pain after a five year follow up period. A prospective longitudinal investigation (ESTEV) was carried out in 1990 and 1995 in seven regions of France. A random sample of male and female workers born in 1938, 1943, 1948, and 1953 was selected from the occupational physicians' files. In 1990, 21 378 subjects were interviewed (88% of those contacted), and 87% were interviewed again in 1995. Chronic neck and shoulder pain satisfying specific criteria, and psychosocial working conditions were investigated by a structured self administered questionnaire and a clinical examination. Prevalence (men 7.8%, women 14.8% in 1990) and incidence (men 7.3%, women 12.5% for the period 1990-95) of chronic neck and shoulder pain increased with age, and were more frequent among women than men in every birth cohort. The disappearance rate of chronic neck and shoulder pain decreased with age. Some adverse working conditions (repetitive work under time constraints, awkward work for men, repetitive work for women) contributed to the development of these disorders, independently of age. Psychosocial factors seemed to play a role in both the development and disappearance of chronic neck and shoulder pain. Data did not show specific interactions between age and working conditions. The aging of the workforce appears to contribute to the widespread concern about chronic neck and shoulder pain. A better understanding of work activity regulation of older workers can open up new preventive prospects.

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Associations between different types of physical activity and teachers’ perceived mental, physical, and work-related health

Inge Bogaert, Kristine De Martelaer, Benedicte Deforche … (2014)

Background The teaching profession is characterized by high levels of stress and physical complaints, which might be improved through regular participation in physical activity (PA). However, the effect of PA on mental and physical health is not always consistent and depends on the type of PA performed. The aim of this study was to examine the mental, physical, and work-related health of Flemish secondary school teachers and identify the impact on those health variables by demographic and teaching-related factors and various types of PA. Methods This study included an online survey conducted across a representative sample of secondary school teachers (n = 1066, average age 40 years; 68 percent female). Level of PA and sitting time were estimated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and perceived mental health and physical health were estimated using the Short Form 36. Work-related factors such as job satisfaction, occupational stress, and absenteeism were also collected. T-tests, ANOVAs, and linear regression analyses were performed. Results Flemish secondary school teachers have poorer perceived mental and physical health than a general healthy population. This difference is particularly evident among female teachers, who reported lower perceived health, more occupational stress, and more absent days compared to their male colleagues. Higher participation in leisure-time PA was associated with a more positive perceived health. In contrast, higher levels of occupational PA and sitting time had a negative impact on perceived health. Total amount of PA, total amount of moderate-to-vigorous PA, transportation-related PA, and PA at home were not associated to teachers’ perceived health. Conclusion Because secondary school teachers’ levels of perceived health are low, they are an important target group for interventions aiming to improve health. Only leisure-time PA was associated with more positive perceived health. This finding may indicate that teachers performing more exercise during leisure time, or in a more autonomous way, may be more resistant to physical and mental health problems. Future research should verify whether promoting leisure-time PA among teachers has the potential to improve their mental and physical health, and counteract the negative associations between teachers’ health and their occupational PA.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Melaku Hailu Temesgen: physiomelaku2008@gmail.com

Gashaw Jember Belay: gajember@gmail.com

Asmare Yitayeh Gelaw: asmphysio@gmail.com

Balamurugan Janakiraman: bala77physio@gmail.com

Yaregal Animut: yaregalae@gmail.com

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Musculoskelet Disord

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Musculoskelet Disord

Title: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-2474

Publication date (Electronic): 10 January 2019

Publication date PMC-release: 10 January 2019

Publication date Collection: 2019

Volume: 20

Electronic Location Identifier: 18

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 0000 0000 8539 4635, GRID grid.59547.3a, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, , College of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Gondar, ; P. O. Box: 196, Gondar, Ethiopia

[2 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1936 7857, GRID grid.1002.3, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, , Monash University, ; Melbourne, Victoria Australia

[3 ]ISNI 0000 0000 8539 4635, GRID grid.59547.3a, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, , Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, ; Gondar, Ethiopia

Article

Publisher ID: 2397

DOI: 10.1186/s12891-019-2397-3

PMC ID: 6329165

PubMed ID: 30630454

SO-VID: 4d638759-1463-472a-adf8-55f6e9328204

License:

Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

History

Date received : 23 February 2018

Date accepted : 2 January 2019

Custom metadata

ScienceOpen disciplines: Orthopedics

Keywords: shoulder and/neck pain,school teachers,posture,hypertension,ethiopia

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Orthopedics

Keywords: shoulder and/neck pain, school teachers, posture, hypertension, ethiopia

Burden of shoulder and/neck pain among school teachers in Ethiopia

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Most cited references 24

Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain among school teachers in China, prevalence and risk factors

Chronic neck and shoulder pain, age, and working conditions: longitudinal results from a large random sample in France.

Associations between different types of physical activity and teachers’ perceived mental, physical, and work-related health

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