The relationship between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in carpet weavers and the lighting in carpet weaving workshops in Takab in 2013

Unsuitable and nonstandard tools, insufficient lighting and the lack of adequate rest in carpet weavers
leads to an increased prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in this group of workers that needs to be reduced through
the better supervision of carpet weaving workshops.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional analysis was conducted in rural carpet weaving
workshops of Takab, Iran. A total of 86 carpet weaving workshops were selected through cluster sampling, which
employed 222 carpet weavers overall. The general and local lighting was measured in the workshops by a photometer
(LX-13 model) and the workers' musculoskeletal disorders were assessed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal
Questionnaire.
Findings: The results of the study reveal back disorders to have been the most (61.3%) and elbow disorder the least
(7.2%) frequent among carpet weavers. The majority of the workshops had a general lighting (82.4% of the
workshops) and local lighting (91.9% of the workshops) below the recommended limits.
Conclusion: The extended involvement of the upper limbs in carpet-weaving increases the prevalence of disorders in
these organs. The results indicate that the majority of carpet weavers worked in workshops with non-standard lighting.
The variables that were most effective in the development of neck and back disorders were the workers' years of work
experience and the general lighting at their workplace while the variable that was most effective in the development of
wrist and shoulder disorders was the workers' years of work experience only.