Evaluation of Ergonomic Risk Factors and Pinch Strength in Goldsmith Workers: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Bhavsar Minal Dhairya , Gadhavi Bhavana Rajesh , Shukla Yagna Unmesh 
Published: February 2025

Introduction: Gold ornament making industries are small scale widespread industries. India is the largest exporter of gems and jewellery. Goldsmith work is highly repetitive and strenuous job which may lead to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) among workers. In the work, the worker uses tools such as cables, screwdrivers, scissors, cutters, pliers etc., for various gripping tasks. Such repetitive movements while working impair the pinch strength of the goldsmith, which is one of the MSDs.

Aim: To evaluate the risk of MSDs and pinch strength in goldsmith workers.

Materials and Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted from jewellery workers from different areas of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on March 2024 to July 2024, which comprised of 300 male participants. Study was affiliated with government physiotherapy college and government spine institute, civil hospital Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was used to assess the stress of workers for all predominant postures by scoring them according to their severity of stress. The average working posture of the goldsmiths at their working condition were analysed by the RULA method. This was carried out with the digital photography. Baseline hydraulic pinch gauze was used to measure pinch strength. Pinch strength was tested using a standardised position given by American Society of Hand Therapists. Measurements were taken alternately between two hands. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were calculated for pinch strength data based on age group and hand dominance. To compare pinch strength between goldsmith workers and the normal values in the Gujarati population for both hands, the Mann-Whitney U test was performed.

Results: The RULA analysis indicates that a significant majority of goldsmith workers are at risk for MSDs due to their adoption of awkward postures during daily work processes, with 44.3% (133 subjects) classified as low-risk suggesting that changes may be needed, 53.7% (161 subjects) categorised as mediumrisk indicating a need for further investigation and prompt interventions and 2% (6 subjects) found to be at high-risk, which requires immediate changes, while none of the workers were at negligible risk level. Result of this study showed that tip to tip pinch strength, key pinch strength and three jaw chuck strength values were reduced in goldsmith workers as compared to normal values of population. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between all three types of pinch strength of goldsmith workers and normal values (p-value <0.05).

Conclusion: From the observation and analysis of the result it was concluded that health of the goldsmiths were highly affected by the improper body posture and workload. Therefore, it is necessary to undertake ergonomic interventions in designing goldsmith workers workstation. Based on the results, the highrisk factors lead to significant decrease in pinch strength of goldsmith workers.