Prevalence of forward head posture and its’ relationship with neck pain among sewing machine operators in two selected garment factories in Kaluthara district

Abstract

Abstract: Neck pain is one of the very common musculoskeletal symptoms among sewing machine operators. Sewing machine operation which is carried out in a forward inclined position over prolonged period makes them liable to develop faulty postures like Forward Head Posture (FHP) and the occurrence of neck pain. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of FHP among sewing machine operators in two selected garment factories in Kalutara district and to study the association of Craniovertebral angle (CVA) with neck pain intensity among sewing machine operators. A cross sectional study was carried out with a total of 167 sewing machine operators (156 females, 11 males) who worked in the sitting position. An interviewer administered questionnaire including Numerical Pain Rating Scale was used to assess the neck pain while photogrammetry was used to measure the CVA using KINOVEA app which is a motion analysis software. The mean values and the SD of age, BMI and work experience was 37.6 years ± 13.4, 23.7 kgm-2 ± 4.9 and 10.0 years ± 8.7 respectively. Out of the study sample, 64.67 % of sewing machine operators presented with FHP while the prevalence of FHP among sewing machine operators with neck pain were recorded as 77.45%. The test results revealed a significant weak negative correlation between CVA and neck pain intensity (p= 0.036, r= -0.208). This study concluded a high prevalence of FHP among sewing machine operators and a significant weak negative correlation between CVA and neck pain intensity.