Working Posture and Musculoskeletal Pain among Restaurant Chef

Abstract

Background: Among the workers in the catering industry, the chef is reported to have the highest prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD).Even though working posture was documented as one of the risk factors, the analysis of working posture and musculoskeletal pain was not extensively studied in Malaysia. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal painand to assess the working posture to determine the risk of getting musculoskeletal disorders among restaurant chef. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was completed with convenience sampling of restaurant chef from Johor and Melaka state. Musculoskeletal pain was recorded using aGeneral questionnaire of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and working posture was assessed by the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). Results: Total of 126 participants were analysed in this study. Ankle and foot pain (59.5%), Lower back pain (52.4%) and shoulder pain (48.5%) was the most prevalent pain among restaurant chefs. The majority (64.3%) of the participants having a medium risk of getting musculoskeletal disorders as per the REBA score. Conclusion: All the chefs in this study reported musculoskeletal pain. As the majority of them are having a medium risk of developing WMSD proper ergonomic education and job modification has to be considered for the prevention of musculoskeletal pain.