Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
Problem statement There is dearth of research done on the association between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, and the risk factors associated with these musculoskeletal disorders, among health sciences’ students. Therefore, a link must be established between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and the potential risk factors that influence these musculoskeletal disorders within the Health Science departments at the University of Johannesburg. Aim The aim of this research was to determine whether there was an association between the prevalence and the types of potential risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders among students within the Faculty of Health Science departments at the University of Johannesburg such as Sport and Movement Studies, Emergency Medical Care (EMC) and Podiatry. Method This study was conducted as a secondary analysis by means of a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative study. It involved the analysis of previously collected raw data obtained from questionnaires conducted on undergraduate Sport and Movement Studies, Emergency Medical Care (EMC) and Podiatry students at the University of Johannesburg during recent studies. The data was analysed using the Pearson Chisquare test, Cramer’s value, the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results and Discussion This research study found a 78.3% prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the past 12 months among undergraduate health sciences’ students at the University of Johannesburg in Sport and Movement Studies, EMC and Podiatry. Participants in EMC had the highest group prevalence of 87.5%, followed by participants in Sport and Movement Studies with 81.5%, and Podiatry participants with 70.5%. The most frequently reported body areas for musculoskeletal disorders in the past 12 months for all three courses were low back (47.9%) and neck region (46.5%), followed by shoulder, ankle and foot, knee, upper-back, wrist and hand, hip and thigh, and lastly...