Is low-back pain a limiting factor for senior workers with high physical work demands? A cross-sectional study

Patrick Pascal Nygaard,Lars Louis Andersen,Sebastian Venge Skovlund,Emil Sundstrup

doi:10.1186/s12891-020-03643-1

Patrick Pascal Nygaard, Lars Louis Andersen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-020-03643-1

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Abstract

BackgroundLow-back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent among senior workers and may affect work ability, especially among those with hard physical work. This study determined the joint association of LBP intensity and physical work demands with work limitiations due to pain in senior workers.MethodsIn the SeniorWorkingLife study (2018), 11,738 senior workers (≥50 years) replied to questions about physical work demands, LBP intensity, and work limitations due to pain. Using logistic regression analyses and controlling for potential confounders, associations between the physical work demands and LBP intensity (interaction) with work limitiations due to pain (outcome) was modeled.ResultsHigher LBP intensity, as well as higher physical work demands, significantly increased the odds of experiencing work limitiations due to pain, and these two factors interacted with each other (p < 0.0001). In analyses stratified for LBP intensity, higher physical work demands gradually increased the odds of experiencing work limitiations due to pain.ConclusionsSenior workers with a combination of physically demanding work and LBP are more affected by their pain during everyday work tasks compared to workers with similar LBP-intensity in sedentary occupations. Accommodation of work demands seems especially relevant for this group of workers.

Highlights

Low-back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent among senior workers and may affect work ability, especially among those with hard physical work
Statistical analysis Using logistic regression (Proc Glimmix, SAS version 9.4, SAS Institute, Cary, NC), we modelled the association between LBP intensity and physical work demands, as well as the interaction between these, with the odds of experiencing work limitiations due to pain
We found a significant dose-response relation between LBP intensity and work limitiations due to pain (p < .0001) and between physical work demands and work limitiations due to pain among senior workers (p < .0001)

Summary

Introduction

Low-back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent among senior workers and may affect work ability, especially among those with hard physical work. This study determined the joint association of LBP intensity and physical work demands with work limitiations due to pain in senior workers. A worker with severe LBP undertaking an office-job may be less limited in his/her work duties than workers with a less painful LBP having a physically demanding manual labour. Identifying factors explaining this discrepancy could help tailor effective solutions at the workplace to reduce and prevent LBP and its associated work limitations

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