A Brief Review on Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Brick Kiln Workers

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) have become very common condition. Brick kiln workers are a profession which is not spare from MSDs. The workers in such industries have no knowledge of ergonomics and health problems which add on to the existing MSDs. The aim of this study is to present a summary review of the current state of knowledge about musculoskeletal disorders in brick kiln workers by searching the literatures using health care databases and reviewing them using critical appraisal tools.

Methodology: The literatures were searched using various search engines and databases. Search engines were used are Google Scholar, Pub Med, Science Direct and Databases are COCHRANE, CINHAL, MEDLINE, PEDRO etc. The Source of the data has been electronic sources (Databases, Electronic libraries, Electronic Journals, Google Scholar) and print sources (Journals, Textbooks, Hand searching, Follow-up reference).

Result: Articles were tabulated revealing their title, author, year, study design. A total of 150 papers and reports were identified from the database search. These papers underwent title and abstract screening. 57 had full text screening, of which 13 articles did not include information on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in brick kiln workers and were therefore excluded. So, total 44 articles were included for the review.

Conclusion: Brick making is a multitask activities where specific workers are involved in specific processes. Not to forget that all the brick making manufacturing processes requires time and is a obvious to occur. Also, the workers in such industries are uneducated with almost no knowledge of ergonomics and health problems which add on to the existing MSDs. Use of proper equipment like wheel barrow, trolley etc., frequent breaks, proper ergonomic training and health education are must for them to avoid or reduce the risk of developing WMSDs in brick kiln workers.