Table 2. Distribution of self-reported ergonomic strain and musculoskeletal pains among construction apprentices in the MassBUILT study.
| Self-reported ergonomic straina for each musculoskeletal pain | Neck pain | Shoulder pain | Hand pain | Back pain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total N | Prevalence* N (%) | Total N | Prevalence* N (%) | Total N | Prevalence* N (%) | Total N | Prevalence* N (%) | |
| Almost never | 43 | 16 (37.2) | 37 | 13 (35.1) | 57 | 9 (14.0) | 94 | 30 (32.0) |
| Sometimes but less than 1 h | 240 | 74 (30.8) | 234 | 83 (35.5) | 367 | 85 (23.2) | 465 | 204 (43.9) |
| 1–4 h | 624 | 239 (38.3) | 690 | 268 (38.7) | 771 | 220 (28.5) | 815 | 415 (51.0) |
| More than 4 h | 309 | 152 (49.2) | 251 | 130 (51.8) | 543 | 182 (33.5) | 363 | 226 (62.3) |
| Missing | 11 | 4 (36.4) | 12 | 5 (29.4) | 22 | 6 (27.3) | 16 | 10 (62.5) |
| Total | 1,227b | 485 (39.5) | 1,224b | 498 (40.7) | 1,760 | 501 (28.5) | 1,753 | 885 (50.5) |
*
p value of the chi-square test about difference of prevalence of each musculoskeletal pain by self-reported ergonomic pain was <0.001 for each of four musculoskeletal pains
a
Self-reported ergonomic strain was assessed by the amount of time on the job for stressful body postures for each musculoskeletal pain
b
Sample size for the analysis about neck pain and shoulder pain is smaller than others, probably because of confusing skip instructions that preceded the questions about neck pain or shoulder pain