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Back problems among emergency medical services professionals: the LEADS health and wellness follow-up study
Jonathan R Studnek1, J Mac Crawford, J R Wilkins
1The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Columbus, Ohio, USA. jonst@medic911.com
Objective:
Describe work-life and demographic characteristics associated with reporting recent back pain, and estimate back pain severity among Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals.
Methods:
A 58-item postal questionnaire was used to collect relevant health and wellness information from a national sample of EMS professionals. The outcome variables were self-reported pain in the back or legs, and severity of recent back pain as indicated by the Aberdeen Back Pain Scale (ABPS).
Results:
There were 470/930 (50.5%) participants who reported one or more days of pain in the back or legs over a 2-week period. The variables most strongly associated with recent back pain and pain severity were prior back problems, self-reported health, and job satisfaction.
Conclusion:
This study indicated that work-life, health, and demographic characteristics of EMS professionals were associated with reporting recent back pain.
