Low back pain among hospital nursing assistants

Abstract

Background: Occupational low back pain (LBP) is a relevant condition among hospital nursing assistants (NA). Objective: To characterize the context of LBP among NA who sought medical care for this reason. Methods: We conducted structured interviews to characterize the participants' sociodemographic profile, state of health and most relevant LBP episode. Next we subjected the participants to brief objective physical examination and reviewed their occupational health records. Results: We interviewed 30 NA, most of whom were middle-aged women with excess weight and sedentary lifestyle. The most relevant LBP episodes were characterized by severe pain (93.3%) and resulted in functional restrictions for 63.3% of the sample. Job tasks most frequently associated with LBP were patient transfer (23.3%) and lifting/carrying loads >12 kg (20%). Although all the participants had sought medical care, 80% still complained of pain at the time of the interviews. On physical examination, the Lasègue and Bragard signs were found in 11 participants. We found significant association (p<0.05) between clinical signs, ongoing pain and incapacity for work. Conclusions: According to most participants, LBP episodes occurred while performing tasks involving high physical demands, such as patient transfer and lifting/carrying loads >12 kg. The influence of individual factors notwithstanding, prevention and treatment of LBP among NA requires integrated occupational health interventions to minimize its impact on health and absenteeism.