Elahe Kabir-Mokamelkhah - Occupational Medicine Research Center (OMRC), Iran University of medical sciences and health services (IUMS), Tehran-Iran
Mashallah Aghilinejad - Occupational Medicine Research Center (OMRC), Iran University of medical sciences and health services (IUMS); Tehran-Iran
Amir Bahrami-Ahmadi - Occupational Medicine Research Center (OMRC), Iran University of medical sciences and health services (IUMS), Tehran-Iran
Soheila Abbaszadeh - Occupational Medicine Research Center (OMRC), Iran University of medical sciences and health services (IUMS), Tehran-Iran

Farming as job, had some activities or work task such as strenuous physical tasks and high levels of manual labor in farming job, which can increase risk of MSDs among farmers. Present study with prospective design designed for assessment role of rice farming in developmental risk of MSDs among Iranian rice farmers.Present prospective study was performed on 75 rice farmers of Babol city in Iran and 75 participants without history of rice farming, during March 2013 until September 2013. At the beginning of the study, participants did not have any musculoskeletal complaints in each of their body parts. Study exposure in the present study was working in the rice farming workplace for one rice farming period which at least lasted for four months. Frequency of MSDs had been assessed by Nordic questionnaire at three follow-up points.We followed 75 rice farmers of Babol city as expose and compare them with 75 participants without history of rice farming. Within the six months follow-up, MSDs complaints in 38 (50.66%), 61 (81.33%) and 47 (63.51%) rice farmers had been reported respectively in upper limbs, spinal and lower limbs regions.In the present study, rice farming was reported as a risk factor for MSDs in the spinal region and lower limbs.

Musculoskeletal; Rice forming; Risk, Occupational Medicine