The Ergonomic Evaluation of Low Back Pain of the Manual Lifting Workers

Kim, Ji Yong

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the manufacturing welding metal company. The questionnaire survey was performed on 361 workers to investigate the status of low back pain(LBP), and 101 lifting jobs were ergonomically analyzed to evaluate the relationship between LBP and the exposure. Questionnaire survey was performed repeatedly for reliability test and the information in the questionnaire was compared to the absence record for validity test. There were significant differences in tenure and job titles between groups with LBP and without LBP, but not in general characteristics such as age, tenure, marriage status, blood pressure and liver function test. One hundred and one lifting jobs were analyzed by the physiological, psychophysical and biomechanical ergonomic methods. In logistic regression analysis, the lumbar disc compression force and the lifting frequency were the risk factors of the LBP. As the weight load over the action limit was the risk factor in the group of sudden LBP onset, so were the vertebral disc compression force and lifting frequency in the group of insidious LBP onset. Therefore the author concluded that ergonomic analysis may be a useful preventive tool of the LBP. Further prospective epidemiological study will be needed to identify the risk factors of LBP by the ergonomic method.