Prevalence and Risk Factors of Low Back Pain among Workers in a Health Facility in South–South Nigeria

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has been documented to be a common occupational health problem among health care workers. A cross sectional study was carried out in a health facility in South – South Nigeria to determine the prevalence and risk factors of low back pain among the workers.

Materials and Methods: Data was collected using a self designed, interviewer assisted, semi-structured questionnaire. Information obtained included socio-demographic characteristics, work history of respondents, prevalence and factors predisposing to low back pain. The tool was administered during the different shifts of the health workers. Frequencies were calculated and Fishers exact test was used to test the significance of association between different variables. Level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results: A total of 50 out of 53 workers participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 36.59±8.6 years with a male to female ratio of 2:3. The overall prevalence of LBP over the preceding 12 months was 28%, while the prevalence among males was 35% and females, 23.3%, respectively. The proportion of those with LBP among the doctors, pharmacists and nurses was 33.3% each. No history of back pain was recorded among the administrative staff. Prolonged standing/sitting (25.0%), age above 35 years (38.9%), being overweight or obese (50.0%), lifting of heavy objects (35.7%) and frequent stooping (33.3%) were common risk factors associated with LBP. The associations were however not statistically significant (p>0.05). Up to 42.8% of those with LBP had sleep disturbance and 21.4% needed to obtain sick leave as a result of the pain.

Conclusion: LBP was a common problem among staff in the health facility. Also, prolonged standing/ sitting, being overweight or obese, and lifting of heavy objects were among risk factors reported by those with LBP. Use of ergonomically designed chairs and equipments in the workplace, better lifting techniques and encouragement of mobility among the workers may help reduce the risk of LBP and thus improve workers’ productivity and wellbeing.