The Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Discomfort among Bank O cers in Selected Banks in Colombo District

Abstract

Improper working postures associated with bending, twisting, overreaching and repetitive tasks can lead to musculoskeletal disorders in office workers. Musculoskeletal disorders due to work environment can be considered as one of the major complaints among sedentary workers such as bank employees. Hence, this study attempted to describe the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomforts in bank officers in selected banks in Colombo District. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in selected branches of nine selected private banks in the Colombo District. Thus, 212 Bank o cers of both genders aged 18 to 60 years, with working experience in o ce setups more than one month and whom the daily working period is above 5 hours were recruited using multistage random sampling method. Those who had pre-existing musculoskeletal conditions prior to starting work as a banker or, recent injuries/surgeries were excluded. Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was used to collect data on the musculoskeletal discomfort level of the participants which was experienced at that time of data collection. In the study, the participants consisted of 136 (64.2%) males and 76 (35.8%) females. The study revealed that a significant majority of bank officers in the Colombo District were aged 18-30 (n=102, 48.1%), with a considerable portion working for 8 hours or more (n=102, 73.4%). The prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort was high, with the neck (n=80, 37.7%), lower back (n=50, 23.6%), and hip/buttocks (n=30, 14.2%) being the most commonly affected areas. Moderate levels of discomfort were reported by the majority of participants in these regions based on the CMDQ score. Majority of participants (n=71, 33.4%) reported in at least one region. In conclusion, this study revealed that the neck, lower back, and hip/buttocks are the primary areas of with moderate discomfort among bank officers. To address issues, interventions focusing on ergonomic improvements are crucial for enhancing the wellbeing of officers.