Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorder and its Relation to Stress Among Medical Student at Taif University, Saudi Arabia.

backgroundThe purpose of this research is to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and their association with psychological stress among medical students at Taif University, Saudi Arabia.

methodsA total of 640 medical students were selected by multistage cluster sampling. The data were collected by trained students using a standardized Nordic questionnaire and 10-k questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using the statistical package (SPSS.21). Standardized Nordic questionnaire and 10-k questionnaire besides questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, study year, weight, height, smoking, marital status, chronic disease, and educational degree) were used.

resultsAmong 640 medical students, 45.9% males and 54.1% females reported musculoskeletal pain, it was more prevalent among fourth - and sixth year students, in the last 7 days, neck pain was the highest site of complaint (33.4%) followed by low back pain (15.1%) and shoulder pain (12.8%). Prevention of work was highest due to neck pain (27.7%) and low back (25.1%) followed by knees (19.1%), the stress rate was highest in the second year (67.8%) and third year (67.3%) students followed by the sixth year (65.8%) students.

conclusionsMusculoskeletal disorders are a common health problem reported by more than half of medical students, with a significant association with females and preclinical students. Stress is a common psychological problem that affects two-thirds of medical students. However, we found a nonsignificant association between the onset of musculoskeletal disorders and the level of stress among medical students.