LAUSR

Introduction/Background The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in physiotherapists and to look for predictive factors of their early onset. Material and method A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on March 2017 including thirty physiotherapists of a university hospital center. A self-questionnaire was administered to the participants assessing their epidemiological profile, the MSDs they suffered from, and their level of information on MSDs as well as their level of exposure to these disorders. Results The mean age of the participants was 39.4 years± 8.7 years. The sex ratio H/F was 0.57. The mean professional practice duration was 10.9 years ± 7.11 years. The prevalence of MSDs was 93.3%, these disorders were localized in the lumbar spine (73.3%), cervical spine (30%), shoulder (40%), elbow and wrist (23.3%), hand (13.3%) and lower limb (13.3%). Respondents rated their level of exposure to MSDs as high and their level of information on these disorders as medium. MSDs had an early onset (≤ 2 years) in younger physiotherapists with higher levels of stress (P  The presence of MSDs was correlated to age (r = 0.538, P = 0.002), to professional practice duration (r = 0.889, P  Conclusion Although difficult, the prevention of MSDs is of considerable benefit. The initial training of physiotherapists must include information on occupational risks and adaptation strategies as well as ergonomics of workstations and stress management.