Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in E-Commerce Delivery Boys from Pune (Maharashtra)

Introduction: In India E-commerce industry has been rapidly growing since last 2 decades. With the rise of E-commerce business and the demand for doorstep delivery of purchased products, the delivery workers or delivery boys have become backbone of E-commerce industry. Due to harsh working conditions, they face increased risk for work related musculoskeletal disorders. Method: In this study a total of 362 delivery boys of age group 20-30 years were tested for musculoskeletal disorders. They were evaluated using Standardised General questionnaire of the Nordic musculoskeletal pain questionnaire. Result: In this study it was found that majority of delivery boys complained of low back pain which was about 69.06%. About 59.36% and 33.15% complained of shoulder and upper back pain. This was followed by neck pain with 32.04%. Other parts of the body were also found to be affected, they are Wrist/Hand (27.07%), Knees (25.97%), Elbows (20.44%), Hips/Thighs (11.88%) and Ankles (10.22%). Conclusion: This study revealed that E-commerce delivery boys most oftenly suffered from musculoskeletal problems and pain. Results suggest that more than half of them suffered from low back and shoulder pain. Other regional pain was less common. Key words: E-commerce delivery boys, Nordic musculoskeletal pain questionnaire, low back pain.