Complaints of low back pain among private farmers exposed to whole body vibration

• Main Author: Leszek Solecki (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 2014-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.13075/mp.5893.2014.002; 0465-5893; 2353-1339
• Keywords: pain complaints; lower back; private farmers; Whole Body Vibration; cumulative vibration dose; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Medycyna Pracy, Vol 65, Iss 1, Pp 55-64 (2014)

Introduction: Work-related lower back disorders , which involve the lumbo-sacral region, as well as injuries of the lumbar section of the spine, are a serious and constantly growing problem in Europe. Whole body vibration is one of the major hazardous factors suspected of the development of back pain. Material and Methods: The study covered a selected group of males, 98 farmers (aged 55.3±10.1) from the area of 7 communes in the Lublin Region, engaged in the mixed agricultural production (plant-animal). The control group consisted of 40 academic workers (university and research institute employees) aged 48.9±9.6 years. A questionnaire concerning low back pain (in the lumbar region) designed by the researchers of the Institute of Rural Health in Lublin was used as a major research tool. The degree of farmers' exposure to whole body vibration was evaluated based on the parameter known as a cumulative vibration dose (d) (years×m2×s-4). Results: The measurements showed that the cumulative vibration dose for the selected group of farmers (98) remained within the range of 2.90-9.68 (years×m2×s-4), in the time interval between 15-50 years of work in conditions of exposure to vibration. The survey confirmed that private farmers exposed to whole body vibration considerably more frequently complained of back pain (92 farmers, 94% of the total number of respondents), than academic workers (control group not exposed to whole body vibration (25 researchers, 63%); p < 0.0001. Also the frequency of back pain in all the three time intervals of employment (15-25, 26-35, 36-50 years) is significantly higher in the group of farmers than in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The frequency of back pains experienced by farmers during the entire period of occupational activity increases with a growing dose of whole body vibration (p = 0.005). In the incidence of chronic pain an upward tendency was observed (statistically insignificant). Med Pr 2014;65(1):55-64