Predictors of Back Pain in Firefighters

The purpose of this study was to identify variables-that is, demographic factors (age, history of back pain, body mass index [BMI], and waist circumference), occupational stress, job satisfaction, perceived supervisor support, and physical fitness-that predict back pain in firefighters. Firefighters, an occupational group at high risk for back injury, perform many job tasks under hazardous work conditions. A nonexperimental, correlational design was used to study a convenience sample of 298 male firefighters who completed study questionnaires. Almost one third (30.20%) of the firefighters reported current back pain. The set of factors that predicted current back pain in firefighters included occupational stress, age, history of back pain, and BMI-pseudo R² = .351. Further studies should validate the model and explore relationships among perceived supervisor support, occupational stress, and job satisfaction in other occupational groups, including nurses and police officers.