Does Postural Feedback Reduce Musculoskeletal Risk?: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: There is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among personnel working in the healthcare sector, mainly among nursing assistants and orderlies. Objective: The objective is to analyze the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention that included postural feedback in reducing musculoskeletal risk. Method: A total of 24 nursing assistants and orderlies in a hospital setting were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. After collecting sociodemographic information, a selection of tasks was made and assessed using the REBA (rapid entire body assessment) method. A multi-component intervention was designed combining theoretical and practical training, including feedback on the postures performed by the professionals involved, especially those involving high musculoskeletal risk. This program was applied only to participants in the intervention group. Subsequently, eight months after the first assessment and intervention, the second assessment was carried out using the same method and process as in the first evaluation. Results: The results indicate that the musculoskeletal risk in the second assessment in the intervention group was significantly reduced. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: The multi-component intervention applied can significantly reduce the musculoskeletal risk of nursing assistants and orderlies. In addition, it is a low-cost intervention with great applicability.

Use of Patient Transfer Aids to Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Nurses in the Emergency Department: Literature Reviews

“…The need for patient transfer equipment can be adjusted to the capabilities and needs of health care facilities, especially in emergency departments. The availability of patient transfer aids will not provide maximum results if it is not balanced with reducing the workload of nurses, increasing competent human resources, and understanding how to prevent musculoskeletal disorders, the importance of understanding ergonomic principles, a positive work environment, and organization (Andersen et al, 2019;Oliver Hernández et al, 2022;Kong et al, 2023;Ziam et al, 2020). Collaborative programs implemented to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in health services will provide more significant results, along with the availability of tools to reduce nurses' workload.…”

“…Multi-component interventions to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. The multicomponent intervention provided includes theoretical training regarding musculoskeletal disorders that focuses on the importance of ergnomic principles, warm-up and stretching exercises before starting work, and maximizing the use of mechanical aids to carry out patient transfers (Oliver Hernández et al, 2022). Potential dangers resulting from a lack of understanding related to ergonomic principles can be resolved by increasing understanding of ergonomic principles and maximizing the potential for using mechanical aids to reduce nurses' workload (Richarz et al, 2023).…”

Visualization of Caregiving Posture and Risk Evaluation of Discomfort and Injury

“…Posture feedback is the most effective method of posture intervention [46]. The diversified posture feedback effectively reduces the ergonomic risk of nurses [47]. Posture intervention by merely teaching and training has been proven to be ineffective in reducing the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort and injury, while the postural interventions with biofeedback are more effective [48].…”

Correlation of Climatic Factors with the Weight of an Apis mellifera Beehive

“…The decline in the bee population is caused by a number of factors, reinforcing the need for understanding of the impact of stressors on various causes and interactions between these factors [9]. Several factors can lead to bee mortality, such as climate change, pesticides, viruses, mites, pathogens, and reduced food resources and nests [10][11][12][13].…”