1.Musculoskeletal Disorders And Their Relationship With Physical Activities Among Office Workers: A Review
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2016;16(1):62-74
Lower back, neck and shoulder pain are the most prevalent musculoskeletal problems affecting office workers worldwide, and they have both personal and socioeconomic consequencesas well. Several hypotheses regarding the underlying mechanisms and the maintenance behind office work-related musculoskeletal disorders have been presented. There is some evidence, based on epidemiological studies as well as studies upon smaller groups of subjects, that individuals who sit and work for a long time not only show cognitive impairment at the workplace, but also suffer from poorer and fragmented daytime sleep, in addition toincreased risks of developing variouspsychological, physiological and medical impairments and musculoskeletal disorders. The related physical mechanisms behind musculoskeletal disorders are discussed in the context of new findings. The main causes, as well as varying levels in severity of musculoskeletal disorders,not to mentionthe link between such disorders in the neck, shoulder and lower back regions and physical activity among office workers are also stated. The main objective of this review paper isto conduct a systematic review to identify musculoskeletal disorders and how these disorders are correlated with physical activity among office workers. The results of this review indicate that the musculoskeletal disorder is a critical issue among office workers and the main cause is related to the absence of physical activity as well as the subjects’ sedentary lifestyle. As a practical message, regular physical activity can be effective in the prevention and decrease of physical discomfort among office workers who suffer from musculoskeletalpain.
2.Office Exercise Training to Reduce and Prevent the Occurrence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Office Workers: A Hypothesis
Ardalan Shariat ; Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin ; Manohar Arumugam ; Mahmoud Danaee ; Rajesh Ramasamy
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2016;23(4):54-58
Pain in specific areas of the body (including the lower back, neck, and shoulders) due
to extended periods of sitting and inactivity is the most widespread musculoskeletal disorder
worldwide and has consequences that are both socio-economic and personal. This condition is
particularly prevalent in industrialised countries, affecting roughly 70% to 80% of adults at some
point in their lives; approximately 1% of the U.S. population is chronically disabled by this type
of pain disorder. A practical way to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among office
workers would have a significant positive impact. More work is required to develop a package of
exercises designed to prevent and treat musculoskeletal pain in office workers. Such a package
would be preferable to pharmacological treatments, which can have undesirable side effects. The
main objective of this package would be to increase the flexibility and strength of trunk muscles in
order to decrease the soreness, pain, and degree of discomfort. In this article, we introduce our
proposed package of exercises, which are based on guidelines issued bythe American College of
Sports Medicine.
3.Predictive Factors for Outcomes of Overcorrection Nighttime Bracing in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Systematic Review
Vahideh MORADI ; Taher BABAEE ; Ardalan SHARIAT ; Mobina KHOSRAVI ; Marjan SAEEDI ; Jennifer PARENT-NICHOLS ; Joshua Alan CLELAND
Asian Spine Journal 2022;16(4):598-610
Predictive clinical and radiological factors can potentially identify adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) most likely to benefit from overcorrection nighttime bracing. These factors can provide helpful information in clinical decision making. However, the relationship between these factors and outcomes of overcorrection nighttime bracing is unclear. This systematic review determined the predictive factors for identifying outcomes of overcorrection nighttime bracing in AIS. A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase from January 1986 to January 2021. Studies on AIS patients, aged 10–18 years, with a Risser sign of 0–2 and an initial Cobb angle of 20°–45°, who were treated with overcorrection nighttime bracing and for whom at least one predictive factor of treatment outcome (failure and/or success) was assessed were included. Two blinded reviewers independently evaluated the studies using a quality assessment tool. To determine predictive factors, the level of evidence was rated through best-evidence synthesis. A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria. A Providence brace was used in six of the included studies, while a Charleston bending brace was used in three. Findings from two high-quality studies provided strong evidence of the association between curve flexibility and brace treatment success. In terms of the Risser sign, this evidence was obtained from three high-quality studies. Moderate evidence indicated a positive association between premenarchal status and nighttime bracing failure. Inconclusive evidence indicated that poor brace compliance is associated with treatment failure. Conflicting evidence of treatment failure was indicated for initial curve magnitude, curve type, in-brace correction, age, Risser sign, curve apex, and sex. These findings show that greater curve flexibility and a higher Risser sign are associated with overcorrection nighttime bracing success.
4.Does Bracing Control the Progression of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis in Curves Higher Than 40°? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Taher BABAEE ; Vahideh MORADI ; Hoda HASHEMI ; Ardalan SHARIAT ; Albert Thomas ANASTASIO ; Mobina KHOSRAVI ; Batoul BAGHERIPOUR
Asian Spine Journal 2023;17(1):203-212
Routinely, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) curves that progress beyond 40° in skeletally immature adolescents require surgery. However, some adolescents with AIS and their parents utterly refuse surgery and insist on wearing a brace. Debate continues regarding the appropriateness of bracing for AIS curves exceeding 40° in patients who have rejected surgical intervention. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to review the literature on the effectiveness of bracing and its predictive factors in largermagnitude AIS curves ≥40°. This study replicated the search strategy used by the PICOS system for formulating study questions, which include consideration of the patient/population (P), intervention (I), comparison (C), outcome (O), and study design (S). The search was conducted up to January 2022 in the following bibliographic online databases only in the English language: PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Two assessors reviewed the articles for qualification. Eligible studies were assessed for risk of bias at the study level using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The effect size across the studies was determined using standardized mean differences (Cohen’s d) and 95% confidence intervals for the meta-analysis. Among the eight included moderate quality studies, evidence of potential publication bias (p <0.05) for the trials included was found in the Cobb angle outcome. Results obtained through meta-analysis indicated that the effectiveness of bracing in controlling Cobb angle progression in curves ≥40° is significantly positive. Additionally, initial curve severity, Risser stage, in-brace curve correction, curve type, and apical vertebral rotation were considered risk factors associated with brace effectiveness. This systematic review revealed that bracing could alter the normal course of AIS curves ≥40° in patients refusing posterior spinal fusion (PSF). However, the suggested course for patients refusing PSF remains unclear because of the significant heterogeneity in the risk factors associated with bracing failure.
5.Quality of Work Life among Malaysian OSH Personnel and General Workers from Different Industries in Malaysia
Safiah Rohaizah MAZLAN ; Shamsul Bahri Md Tamrin ; Ng Yee GUAN ; Vivien HOW ; Rozanah Ab RAHMAN ; Johari BASRI ; Haroun ZERGUINE ; Dayana Hazwani Mohd Suadi Nata ; Ardalan SHARIAT
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2018;14(SP1):40-46
Background: Quality of Work Life (QWL) is a subset of the quality of life which expresses the interactions between workers and their total working environment with individual or human dimension. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of QWL among Malaysian workers. Methods: 2740 respondents (1921 males and 819 females) were randomly selected from 11 different industries from all states of Malaysia. Respondents were aged between 18 to more than 55 years and were a local OSH Personnel and local general workers. Face to face interviews were conducted in all the selected industries using a structured questionnaire form adapted from Malaysian OSH Profile 2016. Respondents have completed the questionnaire under instructions and supervision of the research team. Results: Majority of the respondents were male (70.1%) and from manufacturing industries (76.3%). 50% of the respondents identified a high level of QWL in each component like not having a stress with the work load (85.5%), good work environment (78.4%), family life (83.1% and 83.6%), enough income and distribution (58.9%), good communication and harmonies relationship between colleagues and boss (93.4% and 88.7%), good facilities (88.6%), welfare at work (71.3%) and productive working condition (80.8%). There is a significant difference between QWL and type of industries [F(10)=12.897, p=0.001] where agriculture industry had the highest QWL. There is significant difference between QWL and gender (p=0.009) where male reported higher QWL compared to female. Conclusion: These findings could be used by the organizations in order to enhance its performance, productivity, employees’ commitment and satisfaction.