Work-related low back injuries caused by unusual circumstances

Expanding the knowledge of issues that surround work-related injuries allows for the development of more successful work accident prevention policies, treatment and rehabilitation protocols, and education programs. Specifically, clinical observation indicated that many patients did not perceive or report the circumstances of the injury as being part of their regular duties. The objective of this study was to investigate whether unusual activities or circumstances at work played any significant role in the rehabilitation of patients with disabling low back pain. Four hundred thirty-seven patients with severe disabling pain due to work-related injuries and surgery as an option for treatment were studied. The circumstances at the time of the accident were investigated, including demographic data, type of job held at the time of injury, rapport with supervisor, recent cutbacks in job force, and number of highly related injuries. Thirty-three percent of workers were injured while performing their ordinary job duties, with lifting implicated as the most common cause of injury (66%) followed by pushing/pulling (13%). In most patients (67%), the injury occurred under unusual circumstances or activities not normally described in the worker's job routine. This finding has not been previously addressed and implies that physical therapists can improve patient confidence about rehabilitation and returning to work by educating the patients about these circumstances.