Frequency of Back Pain in Security Guards/ Work Environment Factors

Background: Back pain stands for one of the most ordinary and most costly work-related health problems in both developed and developing countries. Security guards represent occupational group among which there appears to be a high occurrence of back pain. The factors contributed are trauma; prolonged positions during duty and psychosocial factors. Objective: The objective of the Study is to find out the frequency of back pain in security guards. Methodology: This cross sectional survey was conducted in Rawalpindi and Islamabad from February 2016 to June 2016 with the sample of 400 security guards. Convenient Sampling technique was used to recruit the subjects. The security guards age ranged from 40-60 years were included and the security guards with any history of spinal fracture, congenital deformity or any other pathology were excluded. One on one interview conducted with security guards and filled questionnaire. Results: The frequency of back pain was 48% among the guards. There were 57.7% guards who reported low back pain, 23.2% upper back pain, 8.9% mild back pain and 14.2% low back pain radiating to legs. Commonly used treatment remedies were rest 31%, medication 4%, and exercise 6%, while aggravating by prolong standing 57.7% and relieved by taking rest 76.7%. The highest relation of back pain in guards was found with occupational stress; prolong positions during duty hours and psychological factors. And there was no association with body weight and BMI. Conclusion: It is concluded that there is huge population of security guards working in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad who are suffering from the low back pain, mostly due to prolong standing posture. Keywords: Back Pain, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Occupational Related Disorders