RESUMEN
Background: Industrialization of the developing countries has resulted in an increase of work related injuries and illnesses. Human forces constitute a major resource in any organization and especially those affiliated to military disorders are an important etiology for early retirement which can be often preventable. Therefore, an accurate knowledge and assessment of musculoskeletal causes are essential to prevent and control disability-related retirement. Consequently, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in debilitated Air Force personnel between 1371 and 1382
Materials and methods: this is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study that was performed retrospectively on all military and non military [office worker] personnel who took an early retirement due to musculoskeletaI illnesses between 1371 and 1382. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS- 11.5
Results: among 1931 individuals who took retirement due to disability during these 11 years, 429 cases [22.2%] had muscultoskeletal illness. The average age in this group was 41.1 +/- 5.2. The average sickness absence was 7.5 +/- 4.9 years. Studied disorders included spinal [66.2%], lower extremity [14.2%], upper extremity [3.5%], and systemic illnesses [15.3%]. Discopathy was the most common disorder in this study [51.2%] followed by articular disorders of limbs [16.5%], musculoskeletal malignancies and malignancy-related paralysis of the limbs [11.8%]. nerve involvement [11.4%], disabling fractures [8.1%], and limb amputation [3%]
Conclusion: in the light of the prevalence of musculoskeletal illnesses and their significant impact on disability and reduced work effectiveness, efforts should be done for prevention. Articular-disorders which stood at the second place after discopathies and osteoarthritis were the most common limb disorders. Considering the preventable nature of these disorders, purposeful measures can be implicated to reduce their occurrence