Factors related to musculoskeletal disorders in workers of production lines of the company Plastiazuay S.A. in Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

The musculoskeletal disorders are the second most common cause of disability in the workplace, being responsible for 40%-50% of costs due to occupational illnesses, in addition to absences from work of more than three days and 49% of all absences of more than three days of two weeks (Regalado et al., 2023). Objective: The objective of this study is aimed at correlating risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders in employees of the company Plastiazuay S.A. The structure consists of an introduction where the health problem is presented and the antecedents that have been documented by previous studies that constitute theoretical references are identified. Methodology: the methodology used is quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and is based on the theoretical construct where forced postures, repetitive movements, manual handling of loads are associated with musculoskeletal disorders, and includes the collection of information through validated methods and techniques to 75 workers from the operational area of ​​a manufacturing company, Plastiazuay, in the city of Cuenca, the data were processed in the SPSS statistical package according to descriptive statistics statisticians in correspondence with the study variables. Results: it was found that there is a strong statistical correlation. The Forced Postures variable presents a positive correlation of (.581*) at a bilateral significance level of 0.01 less than the p-value of 0.05, therefore, it is statistically significant. Which expresses that as the number of forced postures increases, the risk of musculoskeletal conditions increases or viceversa. The Repetitive Movements variable has a positive correlation of 0.586** (Sig. <0.001), which implies that the greater the exposure, the greater the presence of musculoskeletal disorders. The variable Manual Handling of Loads with a coefficient of 0.405** (Sig. <0.001), indicates that as exposure to manual handling of loads increases, the presence of musculoskeletal disorders increases. Conclusion: It was proven that there is a strong correlation through statistical tests between the variables studied. In conclusion, preventive occupational health programs should be aimed at detecting, correcting and/or mitigating the presence of risk factors in order to reduce osteoarticular morbidity. in the specific context of study.