PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS IN UNIVERSITY TEACHERS WHO PERFORM TELETWORK IN COVID-19 TIMES.

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders are estimated to be the most frequent pathology, affecting the health of teleworkers, productivity in organizations and generating a large number of cases of disability. In this sense, the present work had the objective of determining the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and the association with ergonomic risk factors in university professors who telework during COVID-19 at universities in Lima, Peru, in the year 2020. For This was carried out an analytical cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The study population consisted of 110 university professors who were teleworking in the 2020-I semester, during social confinement by COVID-19, in Lima, Peru. The Nordic Kuorinka questionnaire was applied to obtain information regarding musculoskeletal symptoms in regions of the body, such as: shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, dorsal region and lumbar region; occurred in the last 12 months up to 07 days before the questionnaire was applied. The results show the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders by segment was in 100% (n = 110) of the surveyed population. It was found more frequently in the dorso-lumbar spine 67.27% (n = 74) and in the neck 64.55% (n = 71), in a lower percentage in the shoulder 44.55% (n = 49), wrist / hand 38.18% ( n = 42) and in the elbow / forearm 19.09% (n = 21). Teachers associated these musculoskeletal disorders with prolonged postures in the range of 26.80% -50.00% and 12.50% -26.80% with long working hours. The majority age group was 39.09% (n = 43) from 41 to 50 years old and 28.18% (n = 31) from 31 to 40 years old. 70.91% (n = 78) were men and 29.09% (n = 32) women. Concluding in this way that there is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in university professors, mainly in the dorso-lumbar spine and neck; and there is an association of these disorders with ergonomic risk factors such as prolonged posture and long working hours.