Objective Musculoskeletal disorders are a wide range of symptoms including pain and disability that are related to workspace and devices. Repeated activity, adopting fixed and inappropriate postures for a long time and activities including powerful movements of extremities are factors associated with WRMSDs. It seems professional drivers suffer from shoulder and upper extremities symptoms because of repetitive and long working hours with steering wheel and gear. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the shoulder, arm, and hand disability among bus and taxi drivers.
Materials & Methods This research was a cross-sectional, descriptive analytic study. In this study, the prevalence of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders in the urban bus and taxi drivers was investigated and compared. Subjects were included 300 professional drivers aged 25-55 years (mean±SD=41.24±8.28 for bus drivers and 41.22±8.09 for taxi drivers) who were divided into two groups (150 bus drivers and 150 taxi drivers). The method of sampling was simple . The inclusion criteria were: two years’ experience in professional driving and driving for eight hours or two four-hours a day for four days a week. Shoulder, arm, and hand disability were assessed based on DASH and a demographic questionnaire. DASH questionnaire asks about individual’s symptoms (such as pain severity during sleep or activity, weakness, and stiffness) as well as their ability to perform certain activities (individuals’ problem in daily activities and also social and occupational activities). Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 21, t-test, Chi-square, and Spearman correlation tests.
Results According to statistical findings, 33.66% of taxi drivers and 33.67% of bus drivers had musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder, arm, and hand. In bus drivers, 46.66%, 48.66% and 4.66% and in taxi drivers 47.33%, 45.33%, 6.66% had no, light, and moderate problem in daily activities, respectively and just 0.66% of taxi drivers had severe problems in these activities. In bus drivers,32.66%, 64% and 3.33% and in taxi drivers 34.66%, 60.66% and 4.66% had no, light, and moderate symptoms, respectively. In bus drivers, 36%, 40.66%, 18%, 5.33% and in taxi drivers 36%, 41.33%, 18%, 4% had no, light, moderate and severe problems in occupational and social activities, respectively and just 0.66% of taxi drivers were unable to perform these activities. There was a correlation between work hours per week (r=0.24, P=0.003) hours of sleep per day and night (r=0.24, P=0.003) and age (r=0.16, P=0.041) with musculoskeletal disorders in bus drivers. Also, there was a correlation between hours of sleep per day and night and musculoskeletal disorders in taxi drivers (r=0.19, P=0.016). There was no significant difference between disability, symptoms, and function of taxi and bus drivers (P=0.97)
Conclusion This study demonstrated increasing the sleep hours and decreasing the work hours per day and week can reduce the possibility of shoulder, arm, and hand symptoms.