Prevalence of Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders in Barbers in Ziro, Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common job-related health issues for barbers. This is often due to long hours of standing, repetitive movements, and uncomfortable working positions. These conditions can seriously impact job performance and overall quality of life. Objective: To examine how often musculoskeletal disorders occur among barbers in Ziro, Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 37 barbers. Data were obtained using a structured interview. The questionnaire focused on socio-demographic information, work-related factors and musculoskeletal symptoms. The data obtained were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results were summarized in frequency and percentage. Results: Data indicate that most of the respondents were between 30-39 years old (40.54%) with an average age of 35.7 years. All respondents were male. The majority of the respondents work on average 6 to 10 hours a day (51.35%) with a mean of 19.4 years of working experience. For the past 12 months, 86.48% of the respondents had a musculoskeletal condition in at least one part of the body. The most commonly affected regions of the body were: shoulders (40.50%), wrists/hands (37.80%), upper back (37.80%), lower back (37.80%), Ankles/feet (29.72%), knees (29.72%), neck (18.90%) elbow (16.20%) and Hips/thighs (5.40%). A total of (51.35%) of the respondents indicated that they had been unable to perform their normal jobs due to the problems associated with musculoskeletal condition. In previous 7 days, (48.65%) of the respondents indicated that they had experienced a musculoskeletal symptom. Over half (56.76%) of the respondents consulted a physician due to their musculoskeletal conditions. Conclusion: A high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders is found by this study among barbers, thus indicating that this is an occupational health problem. There is a need of ergonomic intervention, awareness programs and preventive measures to address the burden of musculoskeletal disorders experienced by barbers. Keywords: Musculoskeletal disorders, Barbers, Job related injury, Occupational health, Rates of Musculoskeletal Disorders, Ergonomics.