Repetitive movements that require considerable effort lead to structural disorders of the muscle-skeleton system. This type of highly disabling occupational diseases has been increasing in recent years, and became a major public health problem worldwide. To determine the ergonomic risk, we analyzed the postural load in 28 workers from three departments of a Costa Rican university. For this we used a widely accepted standard method, the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). All subjects suffer excessive postural loads in arm, forearm, neck, back, legs and wrist, so we recommend urgent changes to prevent further health damage. Our results can be useful for comparative studies with other working places.
