Frequency of Musculoskeletal Disorders in General Public of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, A Cross Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders comprises of minor and major physical disabilities that influence the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, & joints. Musculoskeletal disorders are extremely common in general population, increase age increases the risk of musculoskeletal issues. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders (e.g osteoarthritis, adhesive capsulitis, low back pain) in general public of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional survey was conducted. The data was collected from different hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and sample size was 776. RESULTS: The peak age group was between 31 years- 40 years in which 353 patients (45.5%) were male and 423 (54.5%) were female. The mean ± standard deviation of the age of patients was 39.29 ± 13.276. Majority of the patients presented with knee osteoarthritis (19.8%), adhesive capsulitis (18.9%), Low back pain (8.4%), neck pain (8.1%) and tennis elbow (7.9%). The majority of patients took 4 sessions of conventional physical therapy (17.3%). CONCLUSION: This study determined that majority of the patients presented at physiotherapy department had osteoarthritis, adhesive capsulitis, neck pain and low back pain. Majority of the female patients were housewives and teachers and majority of the male patients were drivers, waiters, dentists and bankers.