Hospital physical demands and non-specific low back pain

Abstract

Hospital low back pain (LBP) is a common cause of Occupational Health Department appointments. Physical demanding tasks at hospitals frequently give rise and/or worsen preventable occupational LBP episodes. 153 healthcare workers filled out a questionnaire gathering data on socio-demographic, work-related characteristics, general health, and LBP (LBP episodes in the last 12 months, pain severity, disability, and other occupational factors (DMQ)). Among these healthcare workers, 34% reported physical demanding jobs with a low physical intensity and 27% a moderate/highly physically demanding job. Results showed that, after adjusting for gender, two variables were associated with a decreased odds of having 3–6 LBP episodes per year; “sedentary work” (vs “work with high physical demands”) (OR = 0.18; 95%CI 0.04–0.88), and “work with light or moderate physical demands” (vs “work with high physical demands”) (OR = 0.20; 95%CI 0.06–0.67). These findings suggest that moderate physical demands at work and sedentary work, are associated with a lower frequency of LBP episodes.