The Prevalence of Low Back Pain among Nurses in Yazd, Southeast Iran
Abstract
Musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are of serious concern to many organizations, including health care centres. Low back pain (LBP) with no clinical cause is common in nurses. This study aimed to assess the prevalence rate of LBP in nurses. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out on a population of 351 nurses from educational hospitals of Yazd University of Medical Sciences; Yazd, Iran aged 20-45 years. Information on these potential risk factors for LBP was sought using a translated Nordic questionnaire. Two hundred sixty respondents (74.3%) reported experiencing pain at least in one of their nine body regions during last year. The highest prevalence of LBP was seen among nurses in orthopaedic surgery (80.6%), operation room (79.2%), neurology (75.3%) and general surgery (73.7%), emergency medicine (69.9%), paediatrics (59.2%), obstetrics and genecology (54.3%), internal medicine (52.7.5%), intensive care unit (51%), ENT (50.4%), and infectious disease (48%) sections, respectively. These findings suggest that hospitals should focus and attempt to improve the ergonomics of nursing activities. In addition, effective methods of implementing changes in work systems are needed.
Kumar S. Selected theories of musculoskeletal injury causation. In: Kumar, S. (Eds). Biomechanics in Ergonomics. London, Taylor and Francis, 1999. pp 25-44
French P, Jiora L, Pingis D, et al. Prevalence and cause of occupational back pain in Hong Kong registered nurses. J Adv Nurs 1997; 26: 380-8.
Meier E. Ergonomic standard and implication for nursing. Nurs Econ 2000; 9 (1): 31-2.
Cust G, Pearson JC, Mair A. The prevalence of low back pain in nurses. Int Nurs Rev 1972; 19: 169-79.
Holingdale R, Warin J. Back pain in nursing and associated factors. Nurs stand 1997; 11: 35-8.
Smedley J, Egger P, Cooper C, Coggon D. Manual handling activities and risk of low back pain. Occup Environ Med 1995; 52:160-3.
Chiou WK, Wong MK, Lee YH. Epidemiology of low back pain in Chinese nurse. Int J of Nurs Stud 1994; 31: 361-8.
Stubbs DA, Buckle PW, Hudson MP, Rivers PM, Worringham CJ. Back pain in the nursing profession: Epidemiology and pilot methodology. Ergonomics 1997; 26: 755-65.
Garg A, Owen B. Prevention of back injuries in healthcare workers. Int J Ind Ergon 1994; 14: 315-31.
Engels JA, van der Gulden JW, Senden TF, van't Hof B. Work related risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints in the nursing profession: results of a questionnaire survey. Occup Environ Med 1996; 53 (9): 636-41.
Trinkoff AM, Brady B, Nielsen K. Workplace prevention and musculoskeletal injuries in nurses. J Nurs Adm 2003; 33 (3):153-8.
Engels JA, van der Gulden JW, Senden TF, Hertog CA, Kolk JJ, Binkhorst RA. Physical work load and its assessment among the nursing staff in nursing homes. J Occup Med 1994; 36 (3): 338-45.
Botha WE, Bridger RS. Anthropometric variability, equipment usability and musculoskeletal pain in a group of nurses in the Western Cape. Appl Ergon 1998; 29 (6): 481-90.
Elfering A, Grebner S, Semmer NK, Gerber H. Time control, Catecholamines and back pain among young nurses. Scand J Work Environ Health 2002; 28 (6): 386-93.
Alexopoulos EC, Burdorf A, Kalokerinou A. Risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among nursing personnel in Greek hospitals. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2003; 76 (4): 289-94.
Smith DR, Choe MA, Jeon MY, Chae YR, An GJ, Jeong JS. Epidemiology of musculoskeletal symptoms among Korean hospital nurses. Int J Occup Saf Ergon 2005; 11 (4): 431-40.
Jean E, Valma J, Margaret O. Work -related musculoskeletal disorders in prevalence, severity, risks, and responses. Phy Ther 2000; 80 (4): 336-51.
Choobineh A, Tabatabaei SH, Mokhtarzadeh A, Salehi M. Musculoskeletal problems among workers of an Iranian rubber factory. J Occup Health 2007 Sep; 49(5): 418-23.
Smedley j, Trevelyan f, Inskip h, Buckle p, Cooper c, Coggon d. Impact of ergonomic intervention on back pain among nurses.Scand J Work Environ Health 2003; 29 (2): 117-23.
Maul i, Laubli t, Klipstein a, Krueger h. Coure of low back pain among nurses: A longitudinal study across eight years. Occup and Environ Med 2003; 60 (7): 497-11.
Yin B. A study of work stress, patient handling activities and the risk of low back pain among nurses in Hong Kong. J Adv Nurs 2001; 36 (6): 794-804.
Nielsen K, Trinkoff A. Applying ergonomics to nurse computer workstations: review and recommendations. Comput Inform Nurs 2003; 21 (3): 150-7.
Lundberg PC, Wiwatjesadawout P. Lifting patients in bed with and without a draw sheet: a comparative ergonomics study. J Hum Ergo (Tokyo) 1998; 27 (1-2): 55-61.
Pope MH. Risk indicators in low back pain. J Adv Nurs 1989; 21 (5): 387-92.
Files | ||
Issue | Vol 5 No 1 (2013) | |
Section | Original Article(s) | |
Published | 2015-10-11 | |
Keywords | ||
Low back pain Prevalence Nurses Hospital Musculoskeletal disorders Iran |
Rights and permissions | |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |