As use of the visual display terminal (VDT) is becoming more generalized as a result of office automation, the so-called 'VDT syndrome' which is often observed with the workers using VDT has emerged as a serious occupational health problem. However, few comparative study with control group using not only subjective symptom but also physical examination hag been conducted. We have conducted a study comparing prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorder between 113 VDT operators of a telecommunication company and the control groups of housewives and office ladies through a review of subjective symptoms as well as physical examination by physiatrist to understand the magnitude of problem and relative risk of VDT worker. The symptom rates of upper extremity disability in VDT operators were higher than those of controls especially in neck and shoulder area. Fifty-four(47.8%) of 113 VDT operators met our case definition of upper extremity disorder by subjective symptom and physical examination. Myofascial pain syndrome of neck and shoulder muscles were the most common(46.9%). The odd ratio of using VDT operation for developing myofascial pain syndrome in the neck or shoulder area were 2.52(compared to controls of office ladies) and 2.64 (compared to controls of housewives). Other anatomical lesion such as elbow, hand and wrist shows slight higher prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorder than control groups but not statistically significant.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Effects of the Training of Non-Dominant on Hand Function Chel Jang, Minok Song, Boa Kim, Sujung Han Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine.2015; 3(4): 1. CrossRef
Change in Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder After Tailored Rehabilitation Education: A One-Year Follow-Up Survey Dong Hun Lee, Boram Kang, Seungyoung Choi, Taikon Kim, Seong Ho Jang, Kyu Hoon Lee, Mi Jung Kim, Si-Bog Park, Seung Hoon Han Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2015; 39(5): 726. CrossRef
Radiologic Assessment of Forward Head Posture and Its Relation to Myofascial Pain Syndrome An Sun, Han Gyeol Yeo, Tae Uk Kim, Jung Keun Hyun, Jung Yoon Kim Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2014; 38(6): 821. CrossRef
Causes of Hand Tingling in Visual Display Terminal Workers Sein Oh, Hyung Kuk Kim, Jehwan Kwak, Taikon Kim, Seong Ho Jang, Kyu Hoon Lee, Mi Jung Kim, Si-Bog Park, Seung Hoon Han Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2013; 37(2): 221. CrossRef
Comparison of Muscular Endurance Limit of the Thumb with Repetitive Using Between Adults and Children J.H. Park, G.H. Kim, K. Son Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research.2013; 34(1): 1. CrossRef
The Effect of The Forward Head Posture on Postural Balance in Long Time Computer Based Worker Jung-Ho Kang, Rae-Young Park, Su-Jin Lee, Ja-Young Kim, Seo-Ra Yoon, Kwang-Ik Jung Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2012; 36(1): 98. CrossRef
The Study on Computer Workstation, Rest and Musculoskeletal Symptoms in High School Students Tae-Hyung Yoon, Tae-Hyun Cha, Sang-Hui Hwang Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society.2012; 13(7): 3037. CrossRef
Leg Length Inequality, Habitual Posture, and Pain in Women's College Students Sung-Bok Kwon, Yeo-Jin Yi, Hye-Ja Han, Kyung-Sook Cho, Nan-Young Lim, Eun-Hee Lee, Haeng-Mi Son, Young-Sook Park, Joo-Hyun Kim, Hyun-Sook Kang Journal of muscle and joint health.2012; 19(1): 27. CrossRef
A Comparative Evaluation about Force and Fatigue on Thumb according to Input Type for Repetitive Use of Mobile Phone K.M Kim, J.H. Park, G.H. Kim, K. Son Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research.2011; 32(4): 312. CrossRef
To evaluate the prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders in relation to ergonomic evaluation of their work, 260 female directory assistance operators employed in three branch facilities of the nation-wide telecommunication company. Ergonomic evaluation of the work status was done by two industrial hygienists through inspection. Workers were surveyed with standardized self-administered questionnaire and examined by family physicians and an orthopaedician for cumulative trauma disorders. Laboratory examination of serum aspartate aminotransferase(AST), creatinine phosphokinase(CPK), aldolase and rheumatoid factor was done and X-ray of cervical spine and both shoulders was taken from all subjects and nerve conduction velocity test was done on 57 subjects with suspected nerve entrapment cases. Cumulative trauma disorders were categorized into 3 category according to work-relatedness of the disorders. On ergonomic evaluation of the working posture and work environment, improvement of work posture revealed inappropriate postures and devices. Mean age of the subjects were 39 years old and more than 80% graduated high school or above. Ninety-eight percent of the workers employed in the company for more than 15 years and 74.6% of the workers worked at the VDT job for more than 4 years. Mean daily work hours was 8.0 hours per day and mean break hours was 90.5 minutes per day with mean extra work hours of 10.7 hours per month. Mean daily calls were 1128.6 calls in maximum and 864.8 calls in minimum. On laboratory examination, 13 (5.0%) workers had abnormal AST, 53(20.4%) had abnormal CPK, and 1 (0.4%) had abnormal aldolase level. On x-ray examination of cervical spine, 111 (42.7%) had loss of or reversed normal cervical lordosis, 10(3.8%) had narrowing of intervertebral space. Nerve conduction velocity test was abnormal in 11 (19.2%) among 57 workers. Among disorders categorized as work-related, 131 (50.4%) were diagnosed to have fatigue myalgia of levator scapulae, 108 (41.5%) had cervical strain or sprain, 47 (18.1%) had fatigue arthralgia of phalangeal joints, and 47 (18.1%) had probable carpal tunnel syndrome, in 10 (3.8%) of those diagnosis was confirmed electrophysiologically. Age, seniority, work duration at present job, workload nor location of facilities were associated with the prevalence of symptoms nor specific diagnoses on simple statistical analysis and multiple logistic regression, which deems to be due to highly selected and homogeneous characteristics of the study subjects. Above results shows that cumulative trauma disorders are very prevalent among directory assistance operators and elaborate effort is needed to reduce the cumulative trauma disorders among the operators.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Distribution of age, gender, and occupation among individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome based on the National Health Insurance data and National Employment Insurance data Il-Ho Lee, Young-Ki Kim, Dong-Mug Kang, Se-Yeong Kim, In-Ah Kim, Eun-Mi Kim Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
Musculoskeletal Symptoms and Its Related Factors among Male Workers in a Nonferrous Manufacturing Industry Yeon-Ok Jeong, Young-Chae Cho Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society.2012; 13(8): 3552. CrossRef
Risk Factors of Work-related Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders in Male Shipyard Workers: Structural Equation Model Analysis Byung-Chan Park, Hae-Kwan Cheong, Eun-A Kim, Soo Geun Kim Safety and Health at Work.2010; 1(2): 124. CrossRef
Prevalence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Meat and Fish Processing Plants Joon Youn Kim, Jung Il Kim, Ji Eun Son, Sung Kuk Yun Journal of Occupational Health.2004; 46(3): 230. CrossRef