WMSD prevalence by body area of the 19 included studies.
| Authors | Sample size | WMSD by body area | Overall WMSD prevalence | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck | Upper back | Lower back | Shoulders | Elbows/Forearms | Wrists/Hands | Hips/Thighs | Knees | Ankle/Foot | |||
| Ajibade et al., 2013 [31] | 138 | 20.3% | 23.3% | 70.3% | 21.0% | 8.7% | 18.1% | 31.9% | 28.3% | 26.8% | - |
| Alalagy et al., 2025 [32] | 215 | 52.6% | 42.3% | 68.8% | 47.4% | 14.4% | 37.7% | 21.4% | 48.4% | 33.5% | 92.1% |
| Brien et al., 2018 [33] | 59 | 8.8% | 23.5% | 73.5% | 41.2% | 2.9% | 17.7% | 17.7% | 26.5% | 26.5% | 61.0% |
| El Ata et al., 2016 [14] | 184 | 57.1% | 37.0% | 76.1% | 60.9% | 23.9% | 52.2% | 46.7% | 67.9% | 60.9% | 97.8% |
| Elghazally et al., 2023 [21] | 200 | 57.5% | 48.0% | 68.5% | 45.0% | 22.0% | 31.5% | 27.5% | 87.0% | 46.0% | 88.0% |
| Freimann et al., 2016 [34] | 404 | 55.7% | - | 56.9% | 30.9% | 12.4% | 20.0% | - | 31.2% | - | 70.0% |
| Kgakge et al., 2019 [15] | 200 | 15.0% | 32.7% | 68.6% | 36.8% | 3.6% | 8.2% | 10.9% | 14.5% | 23.2% | 90.9% |
| Mailutha et al., 2020 [35] | 314 | 20.4% | - | 32.5% | 20.4% | - | 6.3% | - | 11.3% | 21.5% | 74.2% |
| Moodley et al., 2020 [16] | 125 | 65.9% | 62.2% | 81.1% | 63.6% | 1.1% | 41.5% | 46.8% | 63.6% | - | 83.0% |
| Munabi et al., 2014 [36] | 741 | 36.9% | 35.8% | 61.9% | 32.6% | 15.4% | 29.1% | 27.9% | 37.1% | 38.1% | 80.8% |
| Mutanda et al., 2017 [37] | 266 | 24.1% | 24.1% | 58.7% | 20.7% | 11.0% | 24.8% | 26.6% | 38.5% | 29.7% | - |
| Muthelo et al., 2023 [38] | 69 | 9.0% | - | 43.0% | 22.0% | - | 12.0% | - | - | - | 38.0% |
| Nemera et al., 2024 [39] | 397 | 45.8% | 13.4% | 37.2% | 28.0% | 31.7% | 17.1% | 14.9% | 20.2% | 11.6% | 73.8% |
| Nkhata et al., 2015 [40] | 267 | 16.9% | 19.0% | 53.3% | 29.9% | 10.3% | 18.5% | 24.5% | 9.2% | 54.9% | 77.9% |
| Ojedoyin et al., 2025 [20] | 216 | 66.2% | 56.0% | 72.9% | 57.0% | 16.4% | 52.7% | 40.6% | 30.4% | 34.3% | 95.0% |
| Ouni et al., 2020 [41] | 310 | 28.2% | 36.9% | 68.5% | 21.5% | 20.1% | 18.1% | 0.7% | 34.5% | 20.8% | 48.1% |
| Sorour et al., 2012 [19] | 58 | 67.2% | 55.2% | 63.8% | 65.5% | 25.9% | 50.0% | 29.3% | 44.8% | 44.8% | 63.8% |
| Tinubu et al., 2010 [42] | 118 | 20.3% | 23.3% | 70.3% | 21.0% | 8.7% | 18.1% | 31.9% | 28.3% | 26.8% | 78.0% |
| Yitayeh et al., 2015 [43] | 389 | 30.0% | 17.2% | 14.1% | 45.0% | 15.4% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 7.2% | 21.1% | 9.3% |
WMSD: work-related musculoskeletal disorder.
PG: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration. JJB: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Visualization. Both authors read and approved the submitted version.
Philippe Gorce, Associate Editor and Guest Editor of Exploration of Musculoskeletal Diseases, was not involved in the decision-making or review process of this manuscript. The other author declares no conflicts of interest.
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