Original scientific paper
The influence of body position at work on the occurrence of lumbar painful syndrome
M. Šestić
; Zavod za medicinu rada želiezare Zenica, Zenica
Abstract
In a period of five years (1972-1976) lumbar painful syndrome was diagnosed in 846 workers from three metallurgical plants of the Zenica Iron and Steel Works (Blast Furnaces with an Ore Sintering Plant, Steel Works and Rolling Mills). The average number of workers employed in direct production was 2.871. Lumbago was the most frequent form of the lumbar painful syndrome (45.6%), followed by lumboischialgia (33.1%), and lumbosacral radiculopathy. All the three diseases were actually due to the degeneration and lesion of the intervertebral disc in the lumbosacral area. The workers who spent different lengths of time working in the bent body position showed significant differences in the rate of the disease. From body position chronometry at work (standing, sitting and bent position, moving) and the rate of the disease a correlation was found between the disease incidence and the time spent in the bent body position: the longer the bent position the more frequent the disease (X2 = 107.55, P < 0.01). The disease was diagnosed in 9.9 per cent of the workers working in the bent body position less than 100 minutes in an eight-hour period, in 15.2 per cent of those who worked in this position from 100 to 150 minutes and in 57.2 per cent of the workers who spent more than 150 minutes working in the bent body position. The author concludes that the incidence of the lumbar painful syndrome depends directly on the time spent in bent body position and on work load.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
159497
URI
Publication date:
28.5.1981.
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