Back Pain Among Persons Working on Small or Family Farms—Eight Colorado Counties, 1993-1996

Abstract

In the United States, work-related back pain often results in lost wages, reduced productivity, and increased medical costs. However, national surveillance data about these injuries, such as occupationally acquired back pain among workers on small or family farms, are limited. To characterize back pain in a farming population, researchers at Colorado State University interviewed adult farmers residing in eight northeastern Colorado counties (Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgewick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma) during 1993-1996, using the Colorado Farm Family Health and Hazard Survey (CFFHHS). This report summarizes the findings of CFFHHS, which indicate that back pain is common among farmers and most frequently attributed to repeated activities (RAs) (e.g. lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, and reaching).