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Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among High School Children in Mangaluru

Background: Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are defined as musculoskeletal symptoms or pain that reflect a number of conditions, which affect the muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, bones and joints. The World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned a report describing the impact of impaired musculoskeletal health among the younger population. Anthropometric measures, school bag weight, faulty postures, studentfurniture mismatch are some of the common risk factors associated with MSDs among school going children. Objectives: To find the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among high school children in Mangaluru and to find the influence of risk factors for the musculoskeletal disorders. Study Design: A cross sectional study. Method: 326 high school children aged 12-16 years from different parts of Mangaluru district participated in the study. A questionnaire was designed to collect the general information. Assessment of the musculoskeletal disorders was done using the Standardized Nordic questionnaire (SNQ). Results: Out of the 326 students assessed, prevalence of MSDs was found to be 40.2 %. While 40.4 % participants reported of discomfort with the dimensions of the desk and bench, 73.3% of the students cited that they carried heavy bags for at least 5-15 min on a daily basis and 74.8 % of the students stated that they travelled for at least 5 – 15 min of duration on a daily basis. Conclusion: The prevalence of MSDs among school children was notable. It was also noted that, factors like, school bag weight, anthropometric measures, duration of school bag carriage, duration of travel, mode of transportation to and fro from school, furniture mismatch etc were evident among the population who suffered from MSD. Therefore, preventive and educational activities regarding the MSDs could be included among the population of school children to curb the future complications of these MSDs.