Low Back Pain as a Predictor of Sickness Absence due to Low Back Disorders

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate two types of self-reported low back pain, sciatic and local, as predictors of sickness absence due to low back disorders. The study population comprised 4265 workers in a large forestry company. The workers filled out a self-administrative questionnaire on musculoskeletal symptoms and potential risk factors. Sickness absence was followed for subsequent 12 months via medical records. Log-linear modeling was used to investigate the associations between the predictors and the number of days lost due to low back disorders. Sciatic and local low back pain were predictors of future sick leaves. Furthermore, their effects on sick leave were different, sciatic pain increasing the risk of sick leave remarkably. Other predictors were self assessed ability to work during the coming five years, job category, average hours per day of transportation work, and average hours per day of working kneeling or squatted. Our results suggest that it is beneficial to differentiate between sciatic and local low back symptoms in health examinations of workers as well as in etiologic studies on low back disorders.