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[Does sitting at work cause low back pain?]
Jan Hartvigsen1, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, Svend Lings
1Nordisk Institut for Kiropraktik, Klinisk Biomekanik, Kosterbakken 20, DK-5000 Odense. j.hartvigsen@nikkb.dk
Ugeskrift for Laeger
|February 20, 2002
Summary
This study found no strong evidence linking sitting while working to low back pain (LBP). Most studies, even high-quality ones, did not support this common belief.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Epidemiology
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
Background:
- Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition often anecdotally linked to prolonged sitting at work.
- Despite common assumptions, a comprehensive meta-analysis or critical systematic review on this association was lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and critically evaluate the scientific literature on the association between sitting while working and low back pain.
- To determine if current epidemiological evidence supports the popular notion linking workplace sitting to LBP.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across Medline, Embase, and OSH-ROM databases for studies published between 1985 and 1997.
- Studies were categorized into 'sitting-while-working' and 'sedentary occupations', and assessed for quality based on sample representativeness, response rate, LBP definition, and statistical analysis.
Main Results:
- Out of 35 identified reports, only eight met basic quality criteria.
- The majority of studies, irrespective of quality, found no positive association between sitting while working and LBP.
- High-quality studies indicated a slight negative association between sitting and LBP when compared to other workplace exposures or occupations.
Conclusions:
- Despite the limited number of high-quality studies, findings were consistent in showing a lack of positive association.
- The current body of epidemiological literature does not substantiate the widespread belief that sitting at work causes low back pain.