Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are one of the main causes of occupational diseases. The sea port and maritime sectors seem to be among the most affected. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of MSDs among workers in this sector and the risk factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the 576 dockers and 38 boaters selected by non-probability sampling for convenience. A questionnaire was used to collect the sociodemographic, assessment of musculoskeletal pain and occupational stress data. The study population was exclusively male with an average age of 44.97±9.7 years and job tenure of 15.94±6.95 years. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain over the last 12 months was 88.6% for the lower back; 39.4% for the upper back; 37.9% for the neck; 40.4 and 39.1 respectively for the right and left shoulders. 89.4% of the subjects were subjected to job strain. The main risk factors for MSDs were: age, seniority, perceived stress, high psychological demand and job strain. This study confirms that the sea port sector is a high-risk work environment for MSDs, especially low back pain. It also confirms the multifactorial risks of MSDs. In this high-risk environment, prevention strategies must be considered in order to act on all of these factors.

Key words: Musculoskeletal disorders, stress, job strain, dockers, handlers.