Mohammad Ebrahimi, Mahmood Reza Azgahini, Jalil Nazari, Abdol Rasoul Safiyan,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (6-2021)
Abstract
Introduction: Carpet-weaving is one of the hard and harmful jobs, which affect the health of the workforce. Based on the previously conducted research, musculoskeletal disorders in the neck, shoulder, and lower back regions are common among carpet weavers. This study conducted to investigate the muscle activity of the shoulder and lower back regions in carpet weavers during work on traditional and ergonomic workstations by surface electromyography.
Material and Methods: 18 experienced male weavers with a mean age of 38 and mean weaving experience of 11.1 years participated in this study. Each weaver took part in two trails of 120 min. Surface EMG signal recordings were done during weaving for four muscles (bilaterally in trapezius and erector spine). The RMS and MPF values were extracted from the raw EMG signal to estimate muscle activity and fatigue.
Results: The results obtained from the 5-time intervals indicated the lowered MPF in the ergonomic workstation compared to the traditional one. The result of the mean RMS in most of the recorded times was lower in the ergonomic workstation than that in the traditional one.
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the modified workstation was well-suited for trapezius muscles, and the traditional one had an advantage for the erector spine muscles.
Davood Mahmoudi, Jalil Nazari, Leila Rastgoo, Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (9-2021)
Abstract
Introduction: The carpet industry is one of the most important handicrafts in Iran. This industry is one of the most difficult and harmful professions, in which the employees are often working in a workplace with non-ergonomic, unsafe, and unhealthy conditions. The present study aimed to address the modeling of the individual, job characteristics, and workplace conditions with the general health of carpet weavers through an ergonomic approach.
Material and Methods: The current study was a descriptive-analytic survey. The study population was female workers, who have had a minimum of one-year work experience and working in the workshops located in Meshginshahr city villages. The data collection tool was a combination questionnaire including, Goldberg’s questionnaire (GHQ-28), NIOSH questionnaire (disease history section), and questions about workplace conditions. The obtained data were entered into SPSS-17 software and analyzed statistically using statistical modeling based on the general linear model, multivariate and other statistical tests.
Results: Unpleasant condition was observed among the 37.4% of the examined, in terms of general health. Logistic regression modeling was used to investigate the internal and external factors of carpet weavers with their general health status. According to the model, general health has a significant relationship (p<0.05) with most of the internal factors such as age, marital status, history of disease, etc. However, there was no significant relationship with the workplace conditions.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that demographic and job variables are of the most important factors affecting the general health of carpet weavers. Although in the model, the workplace conditions did not show any significant relationship with the components of general health, interpreting these findings requires more studies. More studies are required objectively to identify the effect causes of the general health of carpet weavers (especially workplace conditions).
