The relationship between low back pain and professional driving in young military recruits

Episodes of low back pain (LBP) are very common among workers. A number of occupational risk factors have been shown to increase the risk for LBP. One of these risk factors is exposure to whole body vibration, which is a known characteristic in driving professions. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of driving on LBP amongst young professional drivers.

This is an historical-prospective cohort study based on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) database of male soldiers drafted between the years 1997-2006. Subjects' medical history with specific reference to LBP medical history, clinical and radiographic findings were taken as part of the recruitment process to the IDF. The study group included subjects (n = 80,599) from three occupational groups: administrative units (AU), car drivers (CD) and truck drivers (TD) that were followed for 3 years. The incidence and recrudescence rates of LBP were calculated based on standardized LBP severity tiers.

The total incidence rate for LBP was 0.65%, 0.7% and 0.34% for AU, CD and TD respectively. In a comparison between subjects without a history of LBP (category 1) to subjects with a history of LBP without clinical findings (category 2) and subjects with a history of LBP with mild clinical / radiographic findings (category 3), the relative risk (RR) for severe LBP exacerbation was 1.4 (p < 0.001) and 3.8 (p < 0.01), respectively. The LBP exacerbation rates within different severity tiers yielded a similar trend amongst all profession groups.

This study included 80,000 soldiers who represent a population of driving and administrative occupations aged 18-21. The significant risk factors for developing LBP were a previous history of LBP and presence of LBP symptoms at the start of work. A correlation was identified between severity of LBP at the initial examination and further exacerbation of LBP in all examined occupations. Driving as a profession in our (young) age-group was not identified as a risk factor for LBP.