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Article InfoAuto rickshaw drivers are prone to Low Back Pain (LBP) due to occupational exposure. But LBP among auto-rickshaw drivers have hardly been studied. The drivers work long durations in strenuous postures and seat themselves often with onetwo passengers in front. The present study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of LBP in auto-rickshaw drivers of Kolkata.500 auto-rickshaw drivers were randomly surveyed in auto-stands of various parts of Kolkata. A Nordic Pain questionnaire was used to determine prevalence, the 101 Numerical Pain Rating Scale measured current pain intensity and the Oswestry Disability Index evaluated disability due to LBP. Risk factors included age, height, BMI, socio-demographic and occupational details, shoulder to handle distance, knee to break distance, pain intensity, vibration and posture during driving. The Ovako Working postural Analysis System (OWAS) was used to analyze the posture during driving and a Vibrometer was used to analyze the vibration. Logistic regression analysis was performed to ascertain the association of risk factors with LBP. A Pearson"s chi square test was performed to determine the association between two categorical variables. The 12 months prevalence of LBP was 79.8% and 7 days point prevalence was 36%. Forward bent and twisted sitting posture (OWAS action level 2) was significantly associated with LBP.

The normal pattern for reaching to a target is not seen in hemiparesis, as patients are seen to use compensatory trunk movements to accomplish the same task. As much as this compensatory behavior allows them to accomplish the task regardless of the motor deficit, it however, may not be desirable for skill requisition. Past studies have shown that limiting these compensatory movements effectively improves reaching activity in adult hemiparetics. However in those studies, the investigators analyzed the effects of training for a very brief period. Thus in this study we are aiming to determine the effect of task-oriented training with trunk restraint on reaching activity in adult hemiparetics, where 20 adult hemiparetics over the age of 40 years were recruited and were randomly allocated to control (n=10) and experimental (n=10) groups. Participants of both groups were assigned a reaching task for 60 repetitions in a single session in 3 directions for 10 sessions within 2 weeks period. Trunk restraint was introduced to the experimental group while performing the reaching task. Pre and post-intervention scores of the Reaching Performance Scale (RPS) were analyzed. Participants of both the groups show significant (p< 0.05) change in RPS scores. Inter group post intervention RPS scores show a significant (p<0.05) differences. Additionally, when the mean values between the groups were compared, the post intervention RPS scores of the experimental groups were higher than the control group, implying better performance in the former.