Posture, pain, and physical inactivity among workers in a rural factory setting in Turkey

Early Abstract:

Purpose: To evaluate posture disorders, physical activity level, pain, and body awareness in rural factory workers, and to examine their interrelationships.
Method: 133 volunteer participants were included in the study. Demographic information, working period, income and education level of the participants were recorded. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used for pain assessment, the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ) for body awareness, the New York Posture Analysis Questionnaire (NYPA) for posture assessment, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ) to assess physical activity level.
Results: The participants had a mean age of 35.6±9.9 years and a mean BMI of 25.3±4.9 kg/m². Most reported mild-to-moderate pain at rest, during activity, and at night. Common postural deviations included head protraction (30.8%) and foot arch disorders (30.1%), despite generally adequate NYPA scores. Physical activity was predominantly low, with 54% inactive. Vigorous activity was positively correlated with activity pain (r=0.215, p=0.015), and moderate activity with night pain (r=0.200, p=0.024). BAQ scores were positively associated with activity pain (r=0.189, p=0.034), while years of employment correlated with pain at rest (r=0.292, p=0.009) and at night (r=0.243, p=0.031).
Conclusion: Musculoskeletal problems are highly prevalent among rural factory workers, presenting as mild-to-moderate pain and postural deviations such as head protraction and foot arch deformities. Despite generally adequate NYPA scores, detailed assessment revealed significant individual deviations. Physical inactivity likely exacerbates pain and postural imbalance, while longer employment duration is associated with increased rest and night pain. These findings highlight the cumulative impact of physically demanding work and underscore the need for workplace-based preventive strategies, including ergonomic interventions, task variation, micro-breaks, and physiotherapist-guided exercise programs.
Keywords: employee, pain, physical activity, posture, rural factory.