Nurses experience more cases of disabling back injuries in relation to their population than most occupational groups. Patient handling is generally assumed to be the hazard which causes most of the problems. The sparse epidemiologic evidence to support this assumption is reviewed. New information about the proportion of work-related disabling back injuries reportedly triggered by patient handling is reported. Based on the present state of knowledge, derived from reports by nurses who have experienced back pain, it appears that among nurses about 38 to 46 percent of all back pain episodes and roughly 73 to 81 percent of their compensable back injuries are attributed to patient handling.
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