Work-related back injury (and pain that results) is a common cause of missed work days and loss of productivity in workers.
Work-related back injuries are usually due to falls while standing, falls from heights, or direct blunt trauma to the back and are related to certain tasks.
To diagnose work-related back injuries, doctors ask detailed questions about the person's past and current jobs and do a thorough physical examination and sometimes imaging tests.
Employers can take measures to help prevent these injuries.
Employers can change the way work is done, reduce the length of shifts, limit the amount of overtime, and/or schedule more breaks.
Whether personal protective equipment (PPE), such as braces, wrist splints, and back belts, can help is unclear.
Work-related back injuries range from strains and sprains to herniated disks, fractures, nerve damage, and spinal cord injury.
Work-related back injuries are usually due to falls while standing, falls from heights, or direct blunt trauma to the back and are related to certain tasks. These tasks include
Operating motor vehicles
Heavy lifting
Repetitive lifting (heavy and light items)
Tasks that require reaching up with one or both arms (overhead work, such as drilling or finishing drywall)
Tasks that vibrate the whole body (such as driving a construction vehicle over rough terrain)
Other issues may contribute to work-related back pain. People may feel dissatisfied with their job or think their workload is too heavy. Their work may be tedious or monotonous or have demanding deadlines. They may feel that they have no input to decision-making.
Smoking and obesity may contribute to back pain whether it is work-related or not..
If people have had work-related back injury and pain, future back injury is more likely.
Employers may be concerned about malingering (conscious exaggeration of symptoms to obtain a benefit) in workers who claim compensation for work-related back injury and back pain.
Diagnosis of Work-Related Back Injuries
A doctor's evaluation
Sometimes imaging tests
The diagnosis of work-related back injury is similar to that for any other back problem.
Doctors focus on the person's work history, including past work-related injuries. They ask about specific work tasks, including exactly what the person was doing when injured.
Doctors also do a thorough physical examination, including a neurologic examination.
X-rays, computed tomography (CT), and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is done if the injury was caused by direct trauma (such as a direct, forceful blow to the back or a fall from a height) or if the examination detected possible problems, such as nerve damage or fractures.
Doctors often provide detailed notes about their findings when there are legal issues about compensation for a work-related back injury.
Prevention of Work-Related Back Injuries
The following are examples of strategies employers can use to reduce the risk of work-related back injury:
Employers can change the way materials and products are transported. For example, they can provide mechanical assist devices for lifting or carrying heavy loads. They can change to packages with handles or slotted hand holes or store packages in areas that are easier to reach.
Employers can reduce the length of shifts, limit the amount of overtime, and/or schedule more breaks.
Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as braces, wrist splints, and back belts, may help, but they may also make it harder for workers to do the task.
Employers can set up an ergonomic program to evaluate work spaces and reconfigure them to reduce the risk of injuries. Such a program can reduce the risk of problems caused by overusing muscles, having bad posture, and doing repetitive tasks. Ergonomics is also concerned with reducing vibration, controlling temperature, eliminating glare, and ensuring adequate lighting.
Treatment of Work-Related Back Injuries
Similar to that for any other back injury
Strategies to prevent further and future injury
Treatment of work-related back injury is similar to that for any other back injury. Treatment depends on the type of injury—whether fractures, strains (muscles injuries), sprains (ligament injuries), a herniated disk, or a spinal cord injury. For example, for many sprains and strains, rest for 1 to 3 days, followed soon after by mobilization, has the best results and the earliest return to work.
