Physical exposure during patient transfer and risk of back injury & low-back pain: prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among healthcare workers. Because frequent patient transfer has been associated with increased risk of MSDs, we aim to quantify the physical load associated with commonly-used assistive devices and to investigate associations between accumulated physical exposure and risk of MSDs. Methods By applying an exposure matrix based on objective measurements of electromyography and trunk flexion on a large (n = 1285) prospective cohort, intensity of low-back pain (LBP) and odds of back injury at 1-year follow-up were modelled using linear models and logistic regressions, respectively. The cohort was divided into groups according to physical exposure; i.e. low (1st quartile), moderate (2nd and 3rd quartiles) and high (4th quartile) exposure. Results Exposure profiles are provided for 9 groups of assistive devices, with ceiling lifts and intelligent beds eliciting the lowest physical exposure. In the fully-adjusted model, we report differences in LBP intensity at follow-up between the low and moderate exposure groups (p = 0.0085). No difference was found between the moderate and high exposure groups (p = 0.2967). Likewise, we find no associations between physical exposure and odds of back injury at 1-year follow-up, with a prevalence of 11, 13 and 11% for the three groups, respectively. Conclusions Low physical exposure during patient transfer was prospectively associated with lower intensity of LBP. Consistent use of assistive devices associated with low physical exposure, namely ceiling-lifts and intelligent beds, may play a role in reducing the incidence of MSDs among healthcare workers.

Musculoskeletal pain intensity in different body regions and risk of disability pension among female eldercare workers: prospective cohort study with 11-year register follow-up

“…Workplaceand societal initiatives could prolong the working life for many workers and should be prioritized to improve the organisation and physical work environment of eldercare work. For example, the use of technical assistive devices for patients transfer is associated with reduced physical workload and significantly decreases the risk for back injury and low-back pain [42,43], whereas a lack of assistive devices and ability to use the devices is a common contributing factor for back injury events among eldercare workers [44,45]. Another relevant initiative to prevent and reduce pain is physical exercise at the workplace, particularly strength training, which also improves the physical capacity through increased muscle strength and muscular endurance among workers with physically demanding occupations [46,47], whereby the work tasks, e.g.…”

Psychosocial stress and musculoskeletal pain among senior workers from nine occupational groups: Cross-sectional findings from the SeniorWorkingLife study

“…In addition to emphasising the mediating effect of factors related to specific work environments, these findings highlight the importance of addressing the comorbidity of stress and pain, and underscores the notion that these are bi-directionally intertwined. [44][45][46] In line with this notion and considering the fact that an extensive range of physical, organisational, situational and psychosocial aspects of the working environment have been identified as potent risk factors for both musculoskeletal pain [47][48][49][50] and psychosocial stress, [51][52][53] it seems unsurprising that the majority of occupational groups struggle with these health-related issues. Indeed, referring to Cooper and Marshall's original model of occupational stress and the five primary sources of stress at work (organisational structure and climate, relationships at work, career development, role in the organisation and aspects intrinsic to job tasks), 54 this degree of commonality between work-related stress factors appears well-founded in theory.…”

Combined ergonomic exposures and development of musculoskeletal pain in the general working population: A prospective cohort study

“…An intervention strategy could be to reduce exposure time to multiple ergonomic risk factors. This may be achieved by using appropriate assistive devices ( 32 ) or organizing the work better, eg, by job rotation which also includes less physically demanding tasks. However, simply rotating between several physically demanding tasks would probably not be beneficial, as this would result in a high level of combined ergonomic exposure.…”