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Supermarket cashiers face a significant amount of stress, including time constraints, mental pressure, and physical demands that require repetitive movements. The job description of a supermarket cashier involves work-related risk factors that may lead to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms. This study aimed to investigate supermarket cashiers to determine the prevalence of MSD symptoms and their quality of life. Data were collected from a convenience sample of supermarket cashiers working in Saudi Arabia. Information included direct questions on pain in the previous 12 months, demographic data, and health- or occupation-related factors. Moreover, data was collected based on the 36-item short form survey (SF-36), and descriptive statistics were computed. A total of 193 supermarket cashiers participated in this study. The sample included 140 men (72.5%) and 53 women (27.5%), with a mean age of 27.2 &plusmn, 6.4 years. The majority of the participants (90%) had MSD symptoms in at least one body region, with the neck (66.84%) and lower back (65.80%) constituting the most prominent regions. The mean SF-36 scores were higher in participants without pain compared to participants with pain in all domains, except for the physical functioning domain. The high prevalence of MSD symptoms among young cashiers suggest the need for additional investigations to determine the risk factors of these disorders. Additionally, this study recommends preventive procedures to reduce the prevalence of MSD symptoms among cashiers.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) affect millions of people worldwide. Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) is a valid and reliable tool to assess the health of patients with MSD. However, this scale is not available in the Arabic language. The purpose of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) into Arabic (MSK-HQ-Ar) and evaluate its validity and reliability among participants with MSD. Methods: This cross-sectional study used guidelines from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) to translate as well as validate the psychometric properties of MSK-HQ-Ar. Patients with MSD (n = 149) living in Taif participated in the study. Cronbach&rsquo, s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess internal consistency and test-retest reliability of MSK-HQ-Ar respectively. Spearman&rsquo, s correlation was used to assess the correlation between MSK-HQ-Ar and the European quality of life five-dimension, five-level scale (EQ-5D-5L). Results: Out of 149 participants, 119 completed the MSK-HQ-Ar twice. The scale showed good internal consistency, Cronbach&rsquo, s alpha (0.88), and reliability (ICC 0.92&ndash, 0.95). A strong association was found with the EQ-5D-5L scores. Conclusion: The adapted MSK-HQ-Arabic version revealed acceptable psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable outcome measure to assess MSK health among Arabic speaking patients with MSD.

Background. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are considered one of the most common health issues in working population and have a high social and economic impact. This study is aimed at determining the MSD patterns and associated risk factors among higher education academicians in Saudi Arabia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among higher education academicians, randomly selected from different universities within Saudi Arabia. A sample of 207 academicians participated in the present study from different faculties such as nursing, applied medical sciences, pharmacy, dentistry, computer science, science, and engineering for a period of 1 year. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ-E) was used to assess the MSD patterns and prevalence for the different parts of the body regions, and the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (DMQ) was used to determine the physical risk factors associated with the working conditions in the higher academic occupations. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi-squared test were used for data analysis. Results. The overall prevalence rate was 42.5%, and the pattern of body parts involved was almost similar on both study variables, i.e., descending from the lower back (31.9%), followed by the neck (26.1%), knees (21.3%), shoulder (16.9%), upper back (13%), ankle and foot (10.1%), wrist and hand (7.2%), and elbow (6.3%), and the least common observed region was the hip and thigh (2.4%). The physical risk factors and its association with the body regions based on DMQ related to workload, period of use, and repetitive movements were observed in the wrist and hand (43%), followed by the neck (42%) and trunk (21%). Conclusion. The study demonstrated that the MSDs are lower among the higher academic occupations. However, the most common MSDs observed in this group of subjects are the back, neck, and knee pain, and it is found that some of the lifetime physical activities also have a significant association with these involved body regions.

Background Exercise-related or lower-limb overuse injury characterized by pain located between the knee and the ankle that occurs during activity is commonly referred to as shin splint. Hyperpronation is considered the ultimate culprit in the development of overuse injuries such as shin splint. This study endeavors to compare the functional outcomes of the most commonly used anti-pronation techniques, kinesio taping and standard orthotics. Methods A total of 40 subjects (mean age, 24.16±2.6 years) with symptoms of shin splint participated in the current study. These subjects were randomly allocated to two groups (N.=20) and underwent anti-pronation kinesio taping and standard orthotics, respectively. The functional outcomes were assessed using the navicular drop test, visual analog scale, and hop distance. Results The kinesio taping intervention group showed significant improvements in pain and hop distance compared to the standard orthotics intervention group, whereas an insignificant intergroup difference was observed for the navicular drop test. Patients in both groups benefited, but the response to kinesio taping was better than that to orthotics. Conclusions Kinesio taping played a vital role in improving functional outcomes compared to orthotics by reducing pain and improving functional activity in patients with shin splint; however, navicular drop correction did not occur using either intervention.