The relationship between low back pain and the basic lumbar posture at work: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Ergonomics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent issue in the workforce, significantly impacting worker well-being and productivity.
• Understanding the influence of work-related lumbar postures on LBP is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between predominant work-related lumbar postures (sitting, standing, walking, alternating) and the occurrence of LBP in adult workers.
• To identify personal, occupational, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with LBP.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 529 adult worker records from a private company database.
• Classification of predominant lumbar posture based on time spent in sitting, standing, walking, or alternating postures.
• Multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the independent relationship between lumbar posture, covariates, and LBP symptoms in the last 12 months and last 7 days.

Main Results:

• Predominant walking posture was associated with a reduced likelihood of reporting LBP in the past 12 months compared to standing (OR=0.54).
• No significant association was found between work-related postures and recent LBP (last 7 days).
• LBP in the past 12 months was associated with female sex, blue-collar tasks, frequent tiredness, pain in other body regions, previous LBP, and monotonous work. Recent LBP was linked to female sex, current pain in other regions, and prior LBP.

Conclusions:

• Standing posture may increase the likelihood of reporting LBP over the past year compared to walking.
• Personal and clinical factors, rather than work-related postures, were more consistently associated with both past-year and recent LBP.