Health Care
A painful problem
How to handle low-back pain in the workplace
By Matt McClellan
Smart Business Pittsburgh | November 2009
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David M. Weir, President, UPMC Work Partners
Many people assume that low-back pain in the workplace is an issue that only affects those who have jobs that require some sort of physical lifting. However, lower back pain affects everyone — it’s the most common reason people see a doctor other than the common cold.
“The truth is, back pain is not just for construction workers,” says David M. Weir, president of UPMC Work Partners. “It’s an equal opportunity health issue.”
Smart Business spoke with Weir about how to stop low-back pain from negatively affecting productivity in the workplace.
Why is low-back pain an important issue for employers?
For employers, low-back pain is an important issue because back problems are the single largest cost drivers in terms of days away from work, both for occupational and nonoccupational reasons. It is also the most common reason that people see a doctor other than the common cold. Studies have shown that back pain can make it difficult to concentrate on the job. According to research by Duke University, up to 80 percent of people will deal with back aches at some time in their lives.
Isn’t low-back pain at work mostly associated with certain jobs?
Certainly, there are some occupations that put special stress on backs such as nursing, construction and factory work. But even routine office work can hurt your back if you fall into risky habits. In many cases, back injuries, even those that occur on the worksite, are manifested over time. It’s a general degeneration of the body and core muscle fitness that leads to the problem.
Can someone learn how to prevent low-back pain at work?
Historically, prevention of back pain at work has been viewed as a ‘body mechanics’ problem. The thinking has always been that if employees are taught the correct way to bend, stretch and lift, they can learn how to avoid back injuries. But, in many cases, low-back pain is not caused simply by bad mechanics or by what someone does in the workplace. Often, it is more of a fitness issue in combination with a work-related issue.
Factors such as age and genetics can play a large role in terms of whom it affects. To a great extent, once you reach age 35, it’s not a question of if you’ll get back pain so much as when you’ll get it.
What is the biggest factor that drives back pain?
The lower back is a complex anatomy that protects the spinal cord, allows mobility, provides support of the spine and allows the attachment of many muscles that involve hip motion: standing and walking. Some causes of pain due to muscle or ligament strain are degenerative joint diseases, disc disease, spinal stenosis or osteoporosis as we age.
Many times back pain can result from a lack of overall fitness. Muscles, joints and bones all benefit greatly from regular physical fitness exercises.
People who lack good physical fitness are more likely to get back pain than someone who participates to some extent in regular exercise. And, persons with chronic lower back pain are most likely less fit than those who do not have it.
