Prevalence of Neck Pain among School Teachers and its Association with Perceived Muscular Tension, Job Stress and Physical Exposure; An Observational Study

Chronic musculoskeletal pain is of concern to health professionals, and impacts quality of life. Neck pain is one of the prolific reasons for decreased productivity in the teaching profession in developing countries. Epidemiological data on neck pain in Indian teachers are limited. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of neck pain among school teachers and its association with muscular tension, job stress and physical exposure.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 school teachers in twenty randomly selected schools of Belagavi city. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of three parts, to gather information on demographic data, muscle tension and physical exposure. Teacher stress inventory-revised was used to check the level of stress in teachers. Age limit for study was 20 to 50 years. Teachers having neck pain other than musculoskeletal were excluded.

Over 53.3% of respondent teachers had neck pain. The prevalence of Neck pain among female teachers was much higher than that for males. Job stress was found to be significant predictor on neck Pain then physical exposure and muscular tension respectively.

More emphasis should be given to prevent job stress among teachers as perceived muscular tension is associated with increasing level of stress and physical exposure in association with neck pain.