Analysis of the role of job stress in the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms, related with ergonomic factors

Today, many studies have pointed to the role of both, ergonomic and psychosocial conditions in the development of various health problems in workers. One of the main problems encountered in the workplace is the musculoskeletal discomfort, which if not are removed can lead to cumulative trauma disorders. The theoretical evidence suggests that work organization can influence the development of these problems [1]. The aim of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of four studies, in which the presence of job stress with reports of musculoskeletal discomfort was related, additionally, the ergonomic conditions in the workplace where considered as a mediatorfactor. A cross-sectional study, comparative with 649 workers from four companies was conducted.. The instruments used were: 1) Standardized Nordic Questionnaire on musculoskeletal symptoms of Kourinka; 2) The short version of the Job Content Questionnaire, with 27 items; and 3) List of ergonomic evaluation, in order to determine the risks to the upper and lower segments. In the four studies a relationship between the presence of job stress and reports of musculoskeletal symptoms was found. While a similar pattern on the strength of the relationship was not found, but variations in each group. These variations were influenced by gender and the ergonomic factors to which the subjects are exposed. The study results are consistent with findings of Lin, Chen and Lu [2], which indicate that females have a higher prevalence of skeletal muscle discomfort in all body areas compared to men. There is also consistency with the study by Solidaki, Chatzi, Bitsios, Markatzi, Plana, Castro, et al, [3], since in both subjects skeletal muscle discomfort in various body areas related to psychosocial factors was reported. We conclude that the design of jobs in industries not only generates musculoskeletal injury due to inadequate ergonomicconditions, but also influences the presence of stress among workers, which increases the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.