Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Their Contributing Factors among Food Delivery Riders

Background: The meal delivery industry has expanded rapidly in recent years due to evolving consumer tastes, technology advances, and the availability of third-party delivery services. The global market for online food delivery is projected to grow from $115.07 billion in 2020 to $223.77 billion by 2025. These conditions can result from trauma, overuse, work-related tasks, and environmental factors. Musculoskeletal disorders arise due to poor posture, which imposes overpressure on the muscles. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and contributing factors of musculoskeletal disorders among food delivery riders. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 133 male food delivery riders from Lahore, selected through convenient sampling. Participants were aged 18 to 40 years, with at least six months of experience and over three hours of daily delivery using motorcycles. Subjects with underlying systemic pathology, history of any fracture or surgery, or neurological diseases were excluded from the study. Data was collected through structured questionnaires, adapted from a similar study, to assess factors contributing to musculoskeletal disorders. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was measured using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, and severity was assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The study lasted six months after research approval from the Research Ethics Board. After gathering the responses through the demographic and structured questionnaire, we analysed the data using SPSS version 26. The data analytic objective was carried out statistically using descriptive statistics; the continuous variables were presented in tables with means and standard deviations, and the ordinal variables were presented in frequency tables. Results: The mean age of riders was 29.07±7.2 years. Most were of normal weight (74.4%), with 24.1% overweight. Full-time workers made up 60.2% of the sample, and 51.1% had over 25 months of experience. A majority (56.4%) worked less than 9 hours per day. Additionally, 52.6% were married, and 31.6% reported smoking. Conclusion: The study concludes that musculoskeletal disorders are highly prevalent among food delivery riders, with lower back and neck pain being the most commonly reported. Age, years of experience, duration of duty, body mass index, and type of job were significant risk factors leading to musculoskeletal disorders in riders.