Prediction of Low Back Pain Reporting in Industry from Estimates of Cumulative Loading on the Spine

Abstract

Adverse effects of excessive accumulative loading on spinal structures, from either high repetition or prolonged static loading of even relatively low loads, have been known from in vitro studies for many years. However, cumulative compression and shear on low back tissues, although suspected to be risk factors for the reporting of low back pain at work, have been epidemiologically confirmed only relatively recently. Software has been developed which combines a quasi-dynamic biomechanical spine model and dose-response curves from epidemiological data to estimate a predictive index. In this paper, a method is described for estimating cumulative spinal loading and other risk factors and using the data to predict the probability of reporting low back pain in the workplace.