Occupational low back pain

Objectives: Low back pain is a very common occupational disorder. In the United States, for example, one fourth of the workers' compensation claims are filed due to back pain, and a survey found that about 17.6% of workers had back pain everyday for a week or more during a one-year period and that most of them suffered from low back pain. To call for raising the attention to this occupational disorder, a case of occupational low back pain is reported, and an overview of this problem is provided. Methods: A case of low back pain in a medical technician due to long-term lifting is used as an example. Together with a review of literature, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of occupational low back pain are discussed. In addition, data obtained from the Survey of Employees' Perceptions of Safety and Health in the Work Environment conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of low back pain among Taiwanese workers and to identify high risk industries. Results: The review of literature found that low back pain is quite prevalent among the workers in Taiwan. "Infrastructure Construction" was the industry with the highest risk for males, and "Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Hunting" was the industry with the highest risk for females. Well-documented risk factors included lifting and moving heavy objects, heavy physical load, awkward postures, whole body vibration, static work postures obesity, smoking, and psychological factors. The diagnosis of occupational low back pain requires consideration from multiple aspects, and a variety of choices are available for its treatment. The most important issue, however, is the prevention. Conclusions: Low back pain is a common but easily over-looked occupational disorder among workers in Taiwan. We should raise our attention to this problem and apply various prevention measures to reduce its impacts.