Musculoskeletal Effects of Prolonged Use of Safety Footwear among Construction Workers in Selected Sites of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Occupational injuries and work-related musculoskeletal disorders are among the significant issues affecting the construction industry. This work evaluated the musculoskeletal effects of prolonged use of safety footwear on the field construction workers of selected construction sites of a company in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The study used a Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire as the primary tool. The study revealed the short-term and long-term effects of repeated use of safety footwear for long periods. The gender distribution of the respondents showed that (76%) were male while (24 %) were female. The research also reported that (84.8%) of the respondents experienced ankle pain, (49.6 %) suffered hip pain, (34.8%) suffered neck pain and (34.8%) suffered lower back pain respectively from prolonged use of safety footwear which ranged from mild, moderate to severe pain. Chi-square test and correlation analysis at p-value (0.05) were conducted for the test hypotheses with a decision to reject the null hypothesis (H0) if p <0.05. The results showed p-values of (0.707), (0.434); (0,288), 0.066); (0.159), (0.828), and therefore the null hypotheses were not rejected for hypotheses 1, 2, and 3. The study revealed that 35.6 % of respondents were not trained to use safety boots properly. The study further recommends that organizations should ensure work rotation and break periods for workers, and adequate training, education, and awareness programs should be conducted in organizations to enlighten workers on the proper usage and hazards of safety footwear. Employers and decision influencers (managers and safety supervisors) should also be educated about foot health and safety footwear choices that will meet workers' requirements in the work environment, improve working conditions for workers, and impact the high level of MSDs repeatedly reported in the construction industry.