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This study investigates the relationship between musculoskeletal complaints and pathologist postures in laboratories.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method<\/jats:title><jats:p>In this cross-sectional study, 40 pathologists were evaluated. MSDs in different body segments of the participants were evaluated by Nordic questionnaire. For postural analysis, 20\u2009min film was recorded while using a microscope by subjects. Posture analysis was done by the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method and their repetitive movements were scored. The data was analyzed by SPSS Version 11.5.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The mean age and duration of employment of subjects was 36.57\u2009\u00b1\u20097.54\u2009years and 6.50\u2009\u00b1\u20096.30\u2009years, respectively. Most MSDs were found in neck (65%), wrist (57.5%), upper back (50%) and lower back (47.5%). The mean RULA grand score was higher in participants with upper back and shoulder pain. A statistically significant relationship was found between the mean RULA grand, the upper back pain (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.02) and the wrist pain (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.003), as well as between the mean RULA B, the neck pain (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.02) and the lower back pain (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.05). The results showed a significant relationship between mean weekly working hours and tight (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009&lt;\u20090.001), wrist (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.01) and ankle (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.008).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study revealed high prevalence of MSDs among the pathologists. Therefore, performing ergonomic corrective actions is essential in order to improve their physical conditions at work.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12891-021-04870-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,3]],"date-time":"2021-12-03T13:03:07Z","timestamp":1638536587000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["A study on musculoskeletal complaints and working postures in pathology specialists in Iran"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Ehsan","family":"Rafeemanesh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alireza","family":"Khooei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shabnam","family":"Niroumand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tina","family":"Shirzadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"4870_CR1","volume-title":"Current occupational & environmental medicine","year":"2014","unstructured":"LaDou J, Harrison R, editors. 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All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. This study was done according to the approved research proposal number 950455 and all methods were used in this study was approved by Mashhad University Medical Sciences ethics committee in number. REC.1395.437.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no conflict of interest with their funding bodies.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"1012"}}