Prevalence of Work Related Low Back Pain in Healthcare Professionals

Prevalence of Work Related Low Back Pain

Abstract

Health care professionals experience more low back pain than most of the other groups. Occupational and social stresses, no use of preventive measures, poor body mechanics, excessive movements and not seeking medical care are considered as the causative factors for back pain.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of Low back pain (LBP) among health care professionals.

Methods: A cross-sectional research was conducted on 971 randomly selected Health care professionals from various hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Orebro musculoskeletal pain questionnaire (OMPQ) was used. Data collected over 6 months from January 2017 to June 2017and analyzed using descriptive and statistical analysis (Chi square).P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: : The prevalence of LBP among Health care professionals was 51%.The greatest point prevalence was linked to Doctors 66.8% and least for Allied Health professionals 33.1%. Age, Gender and Occupation were found to be associated with the prevalence of LBP with P < 0.05. Nature of work, dealing with pain, job satisfaction and continued activity were the factors related to the risk of LBP and compromised Activities of daily living (ADLs). Discontinuing work until the pain decreases was the factor, used as a preventive measure against pain persistence.

Conclusions: The study concluded that the Health Care Professionals particularly, Doctors and Allied Health Professionals are at considerable risk of developing Low Back Pain, most probably due to the occupational stresses and working environment.