Dose-response relationship between work-related cumulative postural exposure and low back pain: a systematic review
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the evidence for a dose-response relationship between ROM, duration, and frequency of trunk flexion, and risk of occupational LBP.
METHODS: An electronic systematic search was conducted using Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, and Scopus databases focusing on cohort and case-control studies. Studies were included if they focused on non-specific LBP and postural exposure, considering ROM, duration, or frequency of trunk flexion as independent variables. No language restriction was imposed. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies and a summary of evidence is presented.
RESULTS: Eight studies were included and all were methodologically rated as high quality. The included studies yielded a total of 7023 subjects who were considered for risk analysis. Different outcome measures for postural exposure were adopted making meta-analysis difficult to perform.
CONCLUSIONS: We could not find a clear dose-response relationship for work posture exposures and LBP. Limited evidence was found for ROM and duration of sustained flexed posture as risk factor for LBP. We found no evidence for frequency of trunk flexion as a risk factor for LBP.
related content
- “Systematic review: occupational physical activity and low back pain,” an article in Occup Med (Lond), 2011.
- “Causal assessment of occupational lifting and low back pain: results of a systematic review,” an article in Spine J, 2010.
- “Effect of training and lifting equipment for preventing back pain in lifting and handling: systematic review,” an article in British Medical Journal, 2008.
- “Epidemiologic evidence on manual materials handling as a risk factor for back disorders: a systematic review,” an article in International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 1999.
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Ribeiro 2012 as a source:
- PS Save Yourself from Low Back Pain! — Low back pain myths debunked and all your treatment options reviewed
- PS Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — The importance of “lift with your legs, not your back” to prevent back pain has been exaggerated
