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Causes of Back Pain – part 2

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What are the causes of back pain?  Recently my brother experienced the searing back pain from “putting his back out”.  It can come on immediately after getting into a position you shouldn’t, like twisting with a load in your hands or standing up after bending forward, but it can also come on over the course of 24-48 hours, where you feel the gradual tightening and pain begin to increase.  This back pain can be extremely debilitating, as it was for my brother, to the point where he had to go by ambulance to hospital.  And I experienced something similar 13 and 23 years ago.  Guess it runs in the family; my mother and father also both have “bad backs”.

But it is not all that uncommon.  As an Ergonomist I frequently see people who have returned to work after experiencing debilitating back pain and perhaps been off work for a few days, a week or even longer.  Oftentimes, these people have trouble sitting at their desk for longer than 20-30 minutes, have a lot of pain moving from a seated to a standing position, and can’t stand too long either.  Pretty hard to work when you’re feeling this way!!

What causes back pain?  There are so many reasons but the most common ones I see when doing ergonomic assessments are those that are either muscular or disc in nature.  Previous sports injuries, car accidents, and slips and falls can all cause changes to the muscles and soft tissues that can get aggravated with age and certain movements / postures over time. The people I see generally have chronic issues that have developed over time.  Disc issues can certainly cause sciatica (pain in the leg below the level of the buttock fold

[1]) but according to Dr. Reed, “sciatica does not always result from disc herniation” and “MRI scans of individuals with no back or leg pain reveal 28% to have disc herniations”, indicating not all herniations result in pain.   Facet joint pain is another reason people have back pain and it often comes on as a result of high force stretching of the ligaments and surrounding capsule, causing inflammation[2].  And finally muscle and ligament tears can occur from “overdoing it” and they can cause us to have pain, especially since there are so many muscles in the back that control so many of our movements that it is difficult to rest them.

Repetitive Strain Injuries are caused by three main things:

  • Poor design of the work environment (Ergonomics)
  • Poor body mechanics (posture when performing a job)
  • Poor fitness (strength and flexibility)

 

In the workplace, management and workers need to be aware of these three causes and try to mitigate the risks by addressing each one.

  • An ergonomic assessment of the workplace will reveal the risks associated with poor design and companies can address these risks to workers through engineering and administrative controls.  For example, if the risk is bending too often to lift items, a spring-loaded table may reduce that risk.
  • Workers can be taught how their body works and how to use it properly (safe movement techniques) to ensure they maintain strong muscles and joints.
  • And workers can be provided with good information on how to maintain their fitness levels, even be provided with the opportunity to do so through gym memberships, etc.  In the end, it is up to the worker to use the tools they have been provided to ensure they remain healthy and strong enough to do all of the activities they want to do.

 

Anderson Ergonomics Consulting has a FIT4WORK program designed to address the 3 causes of repetitive strain injuries.  Please contact us for more information on how this can apply to your workplace.

In the next article on Back Injuries, we will address some of the more common ergonomic issues in the workplace.

[1] The Complete Doctor’s Healthy Back Bible.  Dr. Stephen Reed and Penny Kendall-Reed, p. 85.

[2] ibid, p. 89.

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