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Impact of musculoskeletal disorders on various agricultural operations: a systematic review

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Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among agricultural workers, especially in developing countries like India, irrespective of crops and the various operations, which ergonomic interventions can minimize. Research on ergonomic interventions and post-intervention studies in agriculture is limited. Sixty-five papers were identified for the review. This systematic review identifies the effects of MSDs in various crops, which will provide a direction for future researchers and practitioners to contribute more to agricultural ergonomics. In addition, this study categorizes the research in terms of (i) the body parts affected due to MSDs, (ii) the continents where the study has been done, (iii) the farming operations which have been investigated, (iv) various MSDs evaluation methods used in agricultural fields. The review reveals that the prevalence of MSDs in various body parts are lower back (74%) followed by shoulder (63%), wrist/hand (62%), neck (57%), upper back (45%), knee/leg (38%), elbow (29%), angle/feet (26%) hip/thighs (22%), and fingers (8%). Further, most of the studies concentrate on harvesting operations (48%), and there exists immense scope for similar studies in pre-harvesting and post-harvesting operations. Ergonomic intervention and post-intervention studies among the agricultural workers are limited even in the developed countries. The review will help the researchers to identify the scope of ergonomic interventions among the various crops in different continents. In essence, this review pinpoints the various intervention gaps in different operations associated with farming in developing countries.

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  1. Industrial Engineering Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, 673601, India

    Abi Varghese & Vinay V Panicker

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Varghese, A., Panicker, V.V. Impact of musculoskeletal disorders on various agricultural operations: a systematic review. Sādhanā 47, 46 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-022-01809-2

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