Table 4.
Relative risks and 95% confidence interval for increased use of ergonomic measures and decreased MSDs of lower back, shoulders, and knees over a 2-year period among construction workers*
| Increase in use of ergonomic measures for | Decrease in complaints per bodily region |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder RR (95% CI) |
Lower back RR (95% CI) |
Knees RR (95% CI) |
|
| horizontal transport (n = 593–613) | 0.9 (0.69–1.20) | 1.4 (0.98–1.97) | 1.4 (0.96–1.90) |
| vertical transport (n = 379–390) | 0.9 (0.63–1.24) | 1.3 (0.90–2.02) | 1.1 (0.75–1.68) |
| the positioning or installing of materials (n = 586–599) | 0.9 (0.65–1.14) | 0.9 (0.67–1.25) | 1.2 (0.85–1.61) |
* RR for an “increase in the use of ergonomic measures” versus “no increase in the use” (i.e., a decrease or no change in using or not using ergonomic measures) and a “decrease of MSD” versus “no decrease of MSD” (i.e., an increase or no change in MSD).
CI, confidence interval; MSD, musculoskeletal disorder; RR, relative risk.