Risk Factors and Prevalence Of Musculoskeletal Disorders Of Batik Artisans From Body Posture and Hand Muscle Activation

Abstract

SUMMARY: The batik industry as one of Malaysian cultural heritage is mainly located on the East Coast of Malaysia, particularly in the states of Kelantan and Terengganu. Most of the industry is home-based. Hence, the traditional batik work environment and tasks impose threats to the well-being of the artisans. This study investigates ergonomic issues and the prevalence of musculoske-letal disorders in two of Kelantan’s batik industries. The artisans’ natural working postures and the environments of the two places were observed and video recorded. Muscle activations on the wrist of the artisan doing the paint (canting) were imitated. Surface electromyography (sEMG) investigations were performed in the laboratory. A questionnaire survey was also distributed among craftsmen and artisans involved in the batik industry in Kelantan. Results illustrate evidence of the need to educate batik industries on ergonomic risk factors. According to the survey of 33 respondents, the most affected body parts are the waist (60%), back and feet (57%). The walkthroughs and site visits showed that batik making process demands awkward postures which include standing, precision handling of hand tools, trunk bending & rotating and overreaching repetitively between 4 to 8 hours. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) index obtained from the assessments ranges from 7-8. It was also shown from the sEMG data that trunk bending affects muscle contraction of the wrist during painting movement. Therefore, immediate interventions are required to improve batik artisans’ postural working conditions, especially on the neck, trunk, legs, wrists and arms