ORIGINAL PAPER
Incidence of musculoskeletal disorders in police officers riding motorcycles while on duty
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Uniwersytet Jagielloński − Collegium Medicum / Jagiellonian University – Medical College, Kraków, Poland (Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Instytut Fizjoterapii / Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Physiotherapy)
Online publication date: 2020-03-24
Corresponding author
Bartosz Trybulec
Uniwersytet Jagielloński – Collegium Medicum,
Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Zakład Fizjoterapii, ul. Badurskiego 19, 30-962 Kraków
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2020;71(2):177-86
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ABSTRACT
Background: Riding a motorcycle involves a risk of suffering from ailments of the musculoskeletal system. These can be caused,
i.a., by long-term persistence of a unfavorable body position, vibrations or the necessity of wearing a protective helmet. One of the
occupational groups that use motorcycles are road traffic police officers. There are few literature reports of ailments related to riding
a motorcycle, especially as regards police officers using these vehicles while on duty. The key objective of this research was to investigate
the occurrence of locomotor system disorders during a motorcycle ride or after it, among Polish police officers who actively ride
motorcycles. Factors which can affect the occurrence and characteristics of those disorders were also verified. Material and Methods: A survey including 42 questions was used in the research. After obtaining the consent from the Police Commander-in-Chief,
485 questionnaires were distributed to selected Provincial Police Headquarters, 377 of which were eventually approved for statistical
analysis. Results: In 57.37% of the investigated police officers who regularly rode motorcycles while on duty, ailments of the locomotor
system were reported, which most often appeared after a long ride (53.46%), and usually disappeared within a few hours after
its end (60.65%). The ailments were found to mostly occur in the lumbosacral (76.17%) and cervical spine (50.93%); however, the
highest intensity was observed in the lumbosacral spine (5.86%) and knee joints (5.11%). Also, there was a direct connection between
pain and years of service on a motorcycle (p = 0.014), the average monthly distance (p = 0.036), and past motorcycle accidents
(p = 0.001), or other accidents (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The Polish police officers experience locomotor system disorders related
to riding a motorcycle while on duty. The factors affecting their occurrence include experience in riding a motorcycle, the monthly
distance covered, and accidents. Med Pr. 2020;71(2):177–86