Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Korean farmers

Lee, Chul Gab

doi:2012.55.11.1054

J Korean Med Assoc > Volume 55(11); 2012 > Article

Focused Issue of This Month

Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2012;55(11):1054-1062.
Published online November 16, 2012.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2012.55.11.1054

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Korean farmers

Chul Gab Lee

Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Chosun University School of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea. cglee@chosun.ac.kr

Abstract

This paper evaluates the current state of work-related musculoskeletal disorders of Korean farmers. Korean farmers are exposed to a multitude of ergonomic risk factors, and have high rates of musculoskeletal disorders such as backpain and knee osteoarthritis, while hip osteoarthritis is relatively low. As of 2010, the average age of Korean farmers is 62.3, and the average period of their work in agriculture is 33.3 years. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish the influence of natural aging and farm work on the development of musculoskeletal disorders. It is necessary to conduct research on a correlation between specific diagnosis such as rotator cuff syndrome, and farm work in general because farmers complain of a great deal of pain.

Key Words: Korean farmer, Work-related musculoskeletal diseases, Knee osteoarthritis, Back pain