Association of objectively measured occupational walking and standing still with low back pain: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: This cross-sectional study investigated the association of objectively measured walking and standing still time at work with low back pain (LBP) intensity among blue-collar workers. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: 187 workers attached two accelerometers for diurnal standing still and walking measurements, which were categorised using tertiles. Workers’ self-reported LBP intensity (scale 0–9) was categorised into low (0–5) and high pain (6–9). Results: Of the 187 workers, 17% reported a high level of LBP. Results of the multi-adjusted logistic regression analysis demonstrated a negative association between walking and high LBP intensity (OR 0.24 CL 95% 0.07 to 0.79). The results between standing still and high LBP intensity were mixed and non-significant. Conclusion: Blue-collar workers who walk more at work tend to have low LBP. These results should be verified using objective measures in a prospective design.

Practitioner Summary: Most studies on the association of occupational walking and standing still with LBP have used poor self-reported measures. This study investigated the association of objectively measured time spent walking and standing still at work with LBP among blue-collar workers. A significant negative association between walking and LBP was found. However, because of the cross-sectional design, these results should be further investigated in prospective studies.

Keywords:

• Low back pain
• ActiGraph
• objective measurements
• occupational standing still
• occupational walking
• blue-collar workers