1Assistant Professor of Community Medicine, Tagore Medical College, Chennai
2Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Sri Ramachandra University
3Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, Sri Ramachandra University
Online published on 26 September, 2019.
India is a developing economy and IT industry is a major contributor for India's industrial and economic growth. The prevalence of computer users are exponentially increasing with years, and as a result of the duration and intensity of exposure to computers, the health problems related to prolonged computer use are also on the rise. This study was done to evaluate the musculoskeletal problems among women IT professionals.
This cross sectional study was carried out among 609 women with over one year of experience working in one of the large projects in a software company in Chennai. Data collection comprised of work related history, questions related to self reported symptoms of musculoskeletal problems and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Wong-Baker faces scale was used to assess the severity of pain. Clinical examination was carried out by the investigator to look for the signs of carpal tunnel syndrome namely phalen's sign and tinel's sign.
The mean age of the participants was 24.9 years. Over 57.2% had a work experience <3 years. Musculoskeletal problems were present in 73.1% of the participants. Carpal tunnel syndrome was present among 6.1% of the participants. Software developers were significantly at risk of musculoskeletal problems (p<0.05)
The high prevalence of musculoskeletal problems emphasizes the need for continuous, motivational, on site health education and rehabilitative measures to prevent the impact of these problems on the quality of life.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Musculoskeletal problems, Software professionals
