Literature Review of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Their Risk Factors Among Supermarket Cashiers

Background: People working as supermarket cashier are at a risk of suffering musculoskeletal disorders. Those cashiers experienced occupational diseases as a result of working in a forced position, such as sitting for long periods of time. Moreover, a high prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders has been reported among them. Objective: This literature review aims to describe previous studies and its findings among the supermarket cashiers to explore and discover the prevalence of MSDs among them and to understand other aspects related to the role of a supermarket cashier. Methods: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases were searched to explore MSDs among supermarket cashiers. Results and conclusion: The prevalence of symptoms varies among different body regions such as the spine, upper limbs, and lower limbs. However, the spinal and upper limb regions are more susceptible to have such disorders. Moreover, some of these symptoms may develop or exaggerate due to psychosocial factors. The supermarket cashier job has several risk factors that may be related to ergonomic workstations, a person’s characteristics, and some related to the nature of work, which involves repetitive movements. Finally, future studies on supermarket cashiers should recruit more males than females, because previous studies focused on females only.