ABSTRACT
Construction workers suffer major musculoskeletal problems in day to day life like back pain, altered posture, etc. One such major problem is due to overuse of upper limb. Till now studies were published on low back pain in construction workers. But, studies related to cumulative trauma disorder of upper limb are new. As majorly upper limb is used by construction workers for their work, so it is necessary to study the effect of occupational load specific exercise protocol on cumulative trauma disorder of upper limb. We wanted to study the effect of occupational load specific exercise protocol on cumulative trauma disorder of upper limb.METHODSIn this comparative study, 42 construction workers, randomly allocated into two groups with 21 in each group with cumulative trauma disorder of upper limb were included. VAS , range of motion and manual muscle testing were the major outcome measures to assess pain intensity in construction workers with cumulative trauma disorder of upper limb. Later, data was collected, and analysis was done.RESULTSIn group A, pain intensity was 68% before conventional exercise program whereas it was reduced to 23% after conventional exercise program. In group B, pain intensity was 69% before occupational load specific exercise program whereas it was reduced to 8% after occupational load specific exercise program. For shoulder joint, in group A, ROM was 45% before conventional exercise program whereas it was improved to 55% after conventional exercise program. In group B, ROM was 41% before occupational load specific exercise program; whereas, it improved to 59% after occupational load specific exercise program. In group A, muscle power was 44% before conventional exercise program; whereas, it improved to 56% after conventional exercise program. In group B, muscle power was 40% before occupational load specific exercise program; whereas, it improved to 60% after occupational load specific exercise program.