title: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among occupational therapists in Korea.
abstract: [Purpose] The purpose of the study was to identify general characteristics of occupational therapists in Korea and to investigate the present conditions of their work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) in order to present preliminary data for its prevention and directions for improvement. [Subjects and Methods] This study was conducted by performing a survey about WRMD among 95 occupational therapists working in Korea. Frequency analysis was conducted for the work-related general characteristics of subjects and for parts of the body with musculoskeletal disorder, and a χ(2) test was used to analyze the association between the presence of WRMD characteristics and each general characteristic. [Results] The parts of the body involved the most were the shoulders, hands, and neck (in decreasing order), and the work-related general characteristics shown to be associated with WRMD were the gender and the mean length of employment period. [Conclusion] The results of this study revealed that occupational therapists in Korea were extremely vulnerable to WRMD, and that realistic measures should be prepared swiftly for its prevention and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Kyungbuk College, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: JuHyung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Musculoskeletal disorder; Musculoskeletal pain; Occupational therapists
references.citation: Phys Ther. 2000 Apr;80(4):336-51
references.pmid: 10758519
references.citation: Phys Ther. 2008 May;88(5):608-19
references.pmid: 18276935