The Hindu : New Delhi News : Back ache dogs Delhi workers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Back ache dogs Delhi workers

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29. The back has not stopped aching, the wrist movements are painful and the shoulder seems to have remained frozen forever. And if this condition seems painfully familiar to what you have been going through, you could take solace in the fact that you are not alone.

According to a recent survey published in the International Journal of Occupational Environmental Health, more than 50 per cent of the Capital's industrial workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders including lower back pain, wrist pain and shoulder aches.

And while Delhiites have not exactly been chart-toppers when it comes to being fit, the research titled "Musculoskeletal disorders in industrial workers of Delhi'' reports that back pains and injuries are very common among workers in the Capital. The survey was conducted in 60 factories representing small and medium sized enterprises.

"The study showed that 50 per cent of the Capital's industrial workers suffer from musculoskeletal symptoms that is associated with the nature of their work. Thirty per cent of the workers having musculoskeletal-system related complaints reported low back pain. Sixty-five per cent of assembly workers and 67 per cent of those employed in buffing works had musculoskeletal disorders, mainly involving the wrist, shoulders and lumbar joints,'' explained the co-researcher and Head of the Department, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital, T.K. Joshi.

Tailors, cooks, workers in buffing, checking and assembly work, and those working with chemicals were put in the bracket of those directly affected and in the most vulnerable section. But the silver lining is that workers who were more satisfied with their jobs reported fewer musculoskeletal disorders. These disorders, according to doctors, are expensive and account for 23 per cent of the total cost of illness. Also while wrong postures and stress are factors affecting the physical condition, Dr. Joshi also claimed that the number one cause was the lifting of weights.

"The load limits set in the State Factory Rules under the Indian Factory Act 1948 do not conform to the general guiding statement of the Factory Act. They are higher than those determined from scientific studies of human capability. The guidelines for lifting weights issued by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the United States prescribes a maximum weight of 23 kg for the working population. And the greater the distance, the less the weight to be carried by the workers. Factories in the Capitalare not even aware of this,'' explained Dr. Joshi.

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