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Is occupational low back pain on the rise?
1Liberty Mutual Research Center for Safety and Health, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA. Murphy@ultranet.com
Spine
|April 21, 1999
Summary
Occupational low back pain claims and costs decreased significantly from 1987 to 1995. Despite this trend, back pain remains a major workplace issue in the United States.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- The prevalence of occupational low back pain is often reported to be increasing.
- Empirical data are needed to validate the perceived rise in occupational low back pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize occupational low back pain trends in the United States.
- To analyze trends in back pain rates, costs, and injury rates.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of workers' compensation claims data (1987-1995).
- Inclusion of data from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (1991-1995).
- Examination of Bureau of Labor Statistics data on back pain reports (1992-1995).
Main Results:
- The annual low back pain claim rate in the U.S. decreased by 34% between 1987 and 1995.
- Annual low back pain claim costs saw a sharper decrease of 58% during the same period.
- In 1995, an estimated $8.8 billion was spent on low back pain claims, with a claim rate of 1.8 per 100 workers.
Conclusions:
- Empirical data did not support a rise in occupational low back pain over the studied 8-year period.
- Findings were consistent across three independent data sources.
- Occupational back pain continues to represent a significant public health and economic concern in the U.S.