[Association of working postures and some lifestyles with low back pain in a manufactory]

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between work and low back pain (LBP) by examining both working postures and the workers' everyday lifestyle. Subjects were 118 male workers in a small-to-medium-sized factory having three kinds of workplaces: the slit line, the packing line, and the crane unit. Working posture analysis with OWAS and interviews were carried out. The result of posture analysis showed that the standing posture with both legs straight and back bent appeared most frequently in all three workplaces. Meanwhile, the prevalence of LBP was almost equal among these groups, with 70% of workers having experienced LBP in each group. But the main cause of LBP differed among the three groups. On the slit line, the result of regression analysis and interview suggested that exercises in the past affected the prevalence of LBP, and that aging and work made LBP worse. On the packing line, many workers were transferred to other positions after a few years, and thus might affect the prevalence of LBP in other workplaces. For the crane unit, it appeared that work in previous positions might affect the occurrence of LBP. Moreover, it seemed that activities in the workplace, rather than lifestyles, contribute to the occurrence of LBP in this factory.