Bob Anderson Stretching Intervention for Alleviating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Among Garment Workers at CV. X Medan

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an occupational disease that causes pain and dysfunction of the hands. Carpal tunnel syndrome often occurs among workers who perform repetitive hand movements and work in non-ergonomic positions, such as garment workers. Various stretching techniques are recommended to reduce the severity of CTS, including Bob Anderson stretching. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the Bob Anderson stretching intervention on alleviating CTS among garment workers. We used an experimental with a one-group pretest-posttest design, and the study was conducted at a garment manufacturing company (CV. X) in Medan. The sample consisted of 32 garment workers selected by purposive sampling. The severity of CTS was measured using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ). Data analysis was performed using a dependent t-test. The results of this study showed that the mean total symptom severity scores before intervention (mean ± SD= 28.06 ± 5.68) decreased after the Bob Anderson stretching intervention (mean ± SD= 20.56 ± 3.83). This significant mean difference (mean difference ± SD= 7.50 ± 3.61; p-value<0.001) indicates that the Bob Anderson stretching intervention is effective for alleviating CTS among garment workers at CV. X Medan. Garment factory owners should implement the Bob Anderson stretching program into the daily workplace schedule at least twice a day and provide training on proper stretching techniques to ensure that garment workers can independently and consistently practice Bob Anderson stretching every day at work to alleviate their CTS severity.