Introduction:

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDS) are injuries in the locomotor system that may have an occupational origin. Back, neck, shoulders and the upper extremities are mainly affected, making it one of the major health issues on the workplace with high economic costs. Among health professions, nursing staff is the main affected, regarding the care of the sick. From the prevention services it has been observed an increase of the consultations in connection with musculoskeletal disorders by the nursing staff of the pediatric Intensive Care Unit that could be related to the increase in the demand for care.

Aim:

To estimate the prevalence of MSDS among the nursing staff of the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid (Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, HCUV).

Methodology:

A cross-sectional observational study, which analyzes the musculoskeletal symptoms referred in the last 12 months and identifies the exposure to ergonomic hazards applying the REBA method (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) depending on tasks.

Results:

Data was obtained from 17 women aged between 25 and 32 years. The 100% of female workers presented musculoskeletal discomfort. The prevalence of MSDS in neck is 94.1%, 64.7% in shoulders, and 88.2% in back lumbar region, 18.8% in the elbow or forearm and 18.8% in wrist or hands. The inferential analysis based on age, occupational category, current position and ergonomic variables does not reveal a statistically significant relationship between the variables. We only were able to find statistical significance between the musculoskeletal discomfort dorsal or lumbar level and length of service of Intensive Care Unit (p=0.051). The REBA method estimated that 11.8% of female workers perform tasks of «high-risk» and that the 88.2% perform tasks of «medium-risk».

Conclusions:

The results show that there is a high prevalence of MSDS in the nursing staff of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, being both the neck and the dorsal or lumbar area the most affected areas. We have not been able to find a causal relationship between MSDS and factors such as age, occupational category, current position and ergonomic variables.