The Occurrence and Severity of Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Swedish Career Firefighters: A cross-sectional study
Havia, David (2023)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023121537821
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023121537821
Tiivistelmä
Firefighters are prone to injury because of physically and mentally demanding working tasks. In the long run, this may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and chronicity. To the best of the thesis writer's knowledge, no studies have investigated the occurrence of chronic MSD among career firefighters in Sweden. Hence, the study aimed to determine the occurrence, severity, and variance of chronic MSD among career firefighters.
In this cross-sectional study, 255 career firefighters, 227 males and 28 females, answered an online survey between February and March 2023. Outcome measurement was a modification of the Chronic Pain Questionnaire (CPQ). The results were presented with proportions, means with standard deviation (SD), and confidence intervals (CI). Analysis of variance was performed with χ2-test and ANOVA.
The results showed that 75% experience any chronic MSD, with the lumbar spine [43% (95% CI = 37-49)] being the most bothersome, followed by the shoulder [33% (95% CI = 27-39)] and knees [23% (95% CI = 18-28)]. Male firefighters reported higher rates of MSD compared to females (χ2 = 4.995, p = 0.025). However, females displayed higher reports from the hand and wrist (χ2 = 6.338, p = 0.012). Further analysis showed that non-smoke divers had significantly higher pain grades (III IV) than smoke divers. Lastly, the most common pain grade was grade II (high intensity/low disability).
This is the first study to investigate chronic MSD in Swedish career firefighters and highlights the importance of further longitudinal studies and preventing chronicity.
In this cross-sectional study, 255 career firefighters, 227 males and 28 females, answered an online survey between February and March 2023. Outcome measurement was a modification of the Chronic Pain Questionnaire (CPQ). The results were presented with proportions, means with standard deviation (SD), and confidence intervals (CI). Analysis of variance was performed with χ2-test and ANOVA.
The results showed that 75% experience any chronic MSD, with the lumbar spine [43% (95% CI = 37-49)] being the most bothersome, followed by the shoulder [33% (95% CI = 27-39)] and knees [23% (95% CI = 18-28)]. Male firefighters reported higher rates of MSD compared to females (χ2 = 4.995, p = 0.025). However, females displayed higher reports from the hand and wrist (χ2 = 6.338, p = 0.012). Further analysis showed that non-smoke divers had significantly higher pain grades (III IV) than smoke divers. Lastly, the most common pain grade was grade II (high intensity/low disability).
This is the first study to investigate chronic MSD in Swedish career firefighters and highlights the importance of further longitudinal studies and preventing chronicity.