Prevalence and severity of upper limb functional difficulties among health professional students: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Injuries are common in young, active populations and students. Most injuries are manifested by pain, discomfort, or tingling in the upper extremity. The outcomes of upper limb complaints on activities of daily living, well-being, social participation, and career productivity, there are high prevalence rates of upper limb functional difficulties. Aim: The study aims to estimate the prevalence and severity of upper limb functional difficulties among health professional students. Methods: 328 health professional students completed a cross-sectional study. The severity of Upper Limb Functional Difficulties was assessed by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand outcome questionnaire. This study captured sociodemographic variables that are related to upper limb functional difficulty. Descriptive statistics and fisher’s exact test analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 328 students had in this study, where the response rate was 80.4%. The prevalence of Upper Limb Functional Difficulties was 68.9% (226) among health professional students. 31.1% (102) of students had no Upper Limb Functional Difficulties. In this study, 40.5% were male 59.5% were female students. The mean Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire score of problems in performing activities was 1.35. The researcher found mild difficulties in students for problems in performing activities. The mean Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire score for the extent of difficulty during sleep because of pain was 1.41. The researcher found mild difficulties in students for the extent of difficulty during sleep because of pain. This research showed that only Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy department students were found to have severe difficulty. Association between Educational department and Severity of Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand outcome questionnaire examined by chi-square test. The association was significant (p>0.05) because the p-value was found to be 0.006. Conclusion: Functional difficulties decrease participation in daily activities and could extend the difficulty during sleep. Our research could have a global impact on university students because after, this research, they can be aware of the prevalence of upper limb functional difficulties. Students will know about the sociodemographic variables that have an impact on upper limb functional difficulties. Key word: DASH questionnaire, upper limb functional difficulty, upper limb injuries, students.