Road To Zero Percent Low Back Pain At Work - 23-years Progress

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Low back pain is approximately 80% of cause of job-related disability in Japan. Risk factors for developing low back pain have been well documented, which include occupational risk factors, types of job requiring heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, one’s fitness levels, and mental health factors. In this long-term project, we have focused on these secondary risk factors of low back pain. We have designed and implemented dynamic, comprehensive low back pain workshop. The objective of this study was to examine how the company-based workshop has offered and reached to 0% low back pain at work. METHODS: The project period was from 1982 to 2004. In 1982, about 1,100 male workers at a soft-drink company participated in the project. Their mean age at the starting of the project was 29 ± 5.3 years. All healthy participants took the modified Kraus-Weber test measuring their strength and flexibility of key postural core muscles. The test was graded for each movement. Also, the participants took questionnaire survey on low back pain. The dynamic, comprehensive low back pain workshop included endurance exercise, strength training, stretching, safe work-related movement practices, lectures on low back pain, good posture, and implementing preventive work-place events. RESULTS: The total number of participants in this project was 24,289. The mean age of participants in 2004 was 42.6 ± 9.7 years. The results of the questionnaire survey revealed that low back pain which hinders work, decreased from 44.6% in 1982 to 0.2% in 2004. The number of absenteeism due to low back pain decreased from 480days to 0 day a year. The perfect score of Kraus-Weber increased from 35.4% to 83.7%. A negative correlation was observed between low back pain and the Kraus-Weber test. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that company-based dynamic, comprehensive low back pain workshop improved physical fitness and work movements over a long-term. The workshop was effective reducing low back pain at work. Further research is required to be assessed whether the reduction in low back pain at work is related to a range of key health and work-related outcomes, and how the dynamic, comprehensive low back pain workshop can be further improved.