Impact of Ergonomics on Undergraduate Physiotherapy Students in Bangladesh

Background: Poor ergonomics is a global concern, contributing to musculoskeletal complaints mostly muscle imbalance, strain, and fatigue among university students due to abnormal posture. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the impact of ergonomics on undergraduate physiotherapy students in Bangladesh. Methodology: The cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2021 to July of 2022. The convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from 210 undergrad physiotherapy students studying at different physiotherapy colleges or institute in Bangladesh. The modified ergonomics related self-questionnaire was used to explore the idea, knowledge and awareness about the correct posture, and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was used to collect data about the severity of musculoskeletal pain. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 was used for analysis. Results: The mean age ± SD of the students was 23.13 ± 2.484. Out of 210 respondents, the majority of the respondents (54.8%) were males, and most of them from crowed area (50.5%). The most of the student’s was Muslim (89.0%) while maximum were single (80.5%). The most of the students have to attend on the class in sitting posture up to 6-8 hours (69.5%) daily. The students have lack of postural awareness and forward bending is their preferred posture. The maximum participants (57.90%) had lower back pain, while 25.8% of had been prevented from doing their normal work due to pain. The results of the study showed a strong association between the study hours daily and correct sitting posture of the students (χ2 = 11.008, df = 5, and p = 0.004). Conclusion: The study found that professional physiotherapy students have low ergonomics awareness and the benefits of its proper use. The preventive training and physiotherapy programs could effectively reduce musculoskeletal complaints among the undergraduate students.