WORKING AT THE LOOM AND MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS IN A FEMALE-POPULATION OF CRETE, GREECE

The influence of the working at the loom on the appearance of musculos keletal disorders has been studied in the adult female population of a highland community of Crete. in which home-based handicraft has an im portant place in the economic activity. Information about symptoms and clinical signs related to the musculoskeletal system, as well as abou t socioeconomic characteristics was collected by means of a personal i nterview and a medical examination. Regression analysis shows that the re is a statistically significant association between the intensity of symptoms from the upper extremities and the shoulder-neck region and the number of years of working at the loom, independently from other s tudied variables, such as BMI, age and number of children per woman.