Brulin C, Gerdle B, Granlund B, Höög J, Knutson A, Sundelin G, et al.
Scandinavian journal of caring sciences. Date of publication 1998 Jan 1;volume 12(2):104-10.
1. Scand J Caring Sci. 1998;12(2):104-10.
Physical and psychosocial work-related risk factors associated with
musculoskeletal symptoms among home care personnel.
Brulin C(1), Gerdle B, Granlund B, Höög J, Knutson A, Sundelin G.
Author information:
(1)Department of Musculoskeletal Research, National Institute for Working Life,
Umeå, Sweden. Christine.Brulin@niwl.se
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate physical and
psychosocial aspects of the work environment, sociodemographic data and certain
lifestyle factors, and the relationship between these variables and complaints
in the shoulder/neck and low back area among female home care personnel. A
questionnaire was completed by 361 randomly selected women. Multiple logistic
regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the importance of several
exposure factors for complaints in the shoulder/neck and low back areas. The
results of this study clearly indicate that 'standing in forward-bent and
twisted postures' can be viewed as a risk factor for shoulder/neck pain. A
combination of this physical exposure and 'no possibility of influencing the
planning of work' gave an increase in odds ratio, indicating an interaction
between these two exposure indices. However, this interaction was not found for
low back pain. 'Standing in forward-bent and twisted postures', 'standing in
awkward positions' and whether the subject had children staying at home were
significantly correlated to complaints about the low back. In fact, the latter
factor decreased the risk of having complaints. The results indicated that
certain physical and psychosocial work risk factors could influence
shoulder/neck and low back pain.
PMID: 9801631 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
