Evaluation of the musculoskeletal system, body awareness and perceived stress level of hairdressers and barbers

The research was conducted to evaluate the musculoskeletal disorders, body awareness and perceived stress levels of hairdressers and barbers and to examine the factors that may affect these situations. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 62 hairdressers and 57 barbers operating in Milas town of Muğla province. Age, gender, occupation, years of work in the profession, daily working time, standing time, break time, regular exercise habit, use of painkillers, and presence of musculoskeletal problems diagnosed by the doctor were obtained through the sociodemographic data form. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to assess musculoskeletal disorders, the Body Awareness Questionnaire to assess body awareness, and the Perceived Stress Scale to assess perceived stress level. %96.8 of the hairdressers and %78.9 of the barbers who participated in the research stated that they had pain, aches or discomfort in any part of their body in the last 7 days. In the distribution of musculoskeletal complaints according to body parts, the most affected areas in hairdressers are the back (%54.8), wrist (%53.2) and waist (%48.4), while in barbers, the waist (%49.1), knee (%38.6) and back (%35.1). There was a statistically significant and negative correlation between the hairdressers' Cornell score and body awareness score (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant and positive correlation between barbers' Cornell score and perceived stress level score (p<0.05). As a result, it is seen that musculoskeletal disorders are quite common among hairdresser and barber occupational groups. Increasing body awareness in hairdressers reduces the severity of musculoskeletal disorders. Reducing the perceived stress level in barbers reduces the severity of musculoskeletal disorders. According to the results of the study, it is recommended to make adjustments in working time and conditions within the scope of preventive rehabilitation in hairdressers and barbers, and to add methods to increase body awareness and reduce stress in approaches to musculoskeletal system disorders. Keywords: "Barber", "body awareness", "hairdresser", "musculoskeletal system", "perceived stress"