Muscle fatigue and grip strength among commercial handloom weavers

Abstract

Muscle fatigue has been a major concern associated with occupational injury. The repetitive task with the hand gripping and motion of wrist for long hours in a static posture develop fatigue and decrease in productivity arising health related issues. The present study aimed to assess the muscle fatigue of handgrip strength among commercial handloom weavers and find the correlation between body pain and fatigue. The study included 180 women weavers from commercial handloom units in three different types of handloom weaving, namely, throw shuttle loom, fly shuttle loom, and frame loom using jacquard. The mean and SD of the percentage decrease in grip strength was found highest in frame-loom using jacquard with a percentage of 12.29±5.78 in the right hand. The correlation between body pain and decrease in grip strength was found to be highly significant with the shoulder pain and hand pain in the right hand of frame-loom using jacquard.