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Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2015 May; 88(4):487-99.IA

Abstract

PURPOSE

To investigate the relationships between low back symptoms and alternative measures of external dose and internal spinal dose in professional drivers exposed to whole body vibration (WBV).

METHODS

The occurrence of low back symptoms was investigated in a cohort of 537 drivers over a 2-year follow-up period. Low back pain (LBP), individual characteristics, and work-related risk factors were investigated with a structured questionnaire. Exposure to WBV was evaluated by means of measures of external dose (daily vibration exposure in terms of either equivalent continuous acceleration over an 8-h period (A(8)) or vibration dose value according to the EU Directive on mechanical vibration) and measures of internal lumbar load (daily compressive dose S ed and risk factor R according to ISO/CD 2631-5 2014).

RESULTS

In the drivers' cohort, the cumulative incidence of 12-month low back outcomes was 16.8% for LBP, 9.3% for chronic LBP, and 21.8% for sciatic pain. The measures of internal spinal load were better predictors of the occurrence of low back symptoms than the measures of daily vibration exposure. A twofold increase in the risk estimates for low back outcomes was found in the upper quartile of the R factor (0.41-0.72 units) compared to the lower one (0.07-0.19 units).

CONCLUSIONS

In this prospective cohort study, measures of internal spinal dose performed better than measures of daily vibration exposure (external dose) for the prediction of low back outcomes in professional drivers. The ISO boundary values of the risk factor R for low and high probabilities of adverse health effects on the lumbar spine tend to underestimate the health risk in professional drivers.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Bovenzi M
Clinical Unit of Occupational Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Trieste, Centro Tumori, Via della Pietà 19, 34129, Trieste, Italy, bovenzi@units.it.
Schust M
No affiliation info available
Menzel G
No affiliation info available
Prodi A
No affiliation info available
Mauro M
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultAutomobile DrivingHumansIncidenceItalyLow Back PainMaleMiddle AgedOccupational DiseasesOccupational ExposureProspective StudiesRisk FactorsSpineSurveys and QuestionnairesVibrationWeight-BearingWorkload

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

25218458

Citation

Bovenzi, Massimo, et al. "Relationships of Low Back Outcomes to Internal Spinal Load: a Prospective Cohort Study of Professional Drivers." International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, vol. 88, no. 4, 2015, pp. 487-99.
Bovenzi M, Schust M, Menzel G, et al. Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2015;88(4):487-99.
Bovenzi, M., Schust, M., Menzel, G., Prodi, A., & Mauro, M. (2015). Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 88(4), 487-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0976-z
Bovenzi M, et al. Relationships of Low Back Outcomes to Internal Spinal Load: a Prospective Cohort Study of Professional Drivers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2015;88(4):487-99. PubMed PMID: 25218458.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers. AU - Bovenzi,Massimo, AU - Schust,Marianne, AU - Menzel,Gerhard, AU - Prodi,Andrea, AU - Mauro,Marcella, Y1 - 2014/09/14/ PY - 2014/03/10/received PY - 2014/09/03/accepted PY - 2014/9/15/entrez PY - 2014/9/15/pubmed PY - 2015/12/23/medline SP - 487 EP - 99 JF - International archives of occupational and environmental health JO - Int Arch Occup Environ Health VL - 88 IS - 4 N2 - PURPOSE: To investigate the relationships between low back symptoms and alternative measures of external dose and internal spinal dose in professional drivers exposed to whole body vibration (WBV). METHODS: The occurrence of low back symptoms was investigated in a cohort of 537 drivers over a 2-year follow-up period. Low back pain (LBP), individual characteristics, and work-related risk factors were investigated with a structured questionnaire. Exposure to WBV was evaluated by means of measures of external dose (daily vibration exposure in terms of either equivalent continuous acceleration over an 8-h period (A(8)) or vibration dose value according to the EU Directive on mechanical vibration) and measures of internal lumbar load (daily compressive dose S ed and risk factor R according to ISO/CD 2631-5 2014). RESULTS: In the drivers' cohort, the cumulative incidence of 12-month low back outcomes was 16.8% for LBP, 9.3% for chronic LBP, and 21.8% for sciatic pain. The measures of internal spinal load were better predictors of the occurrence of low back symptoms than the measures of daily vibration exposure. A twofold increase in the risk estimates for low back outcomes was found in the upper quartile of the R factor (0.41-0.72 units) compared to the lower one (0.07-0.19 units). CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective cohort study, measures of internal spinal dose performed better than measures of daily vibration exposure (external dose) for the prediction of low back outcomes in professional drivers. The ISO boundary values of the risk factor R for low and high probabilities of adverse health effects on the lumbar spine tend to underestimate the health risk in professional drivers. SN - 1432-1246 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/25218458/Relationships_of_low_back_outcomes_to_internal_spinal_load:_a_prospective_cohort_study_of_professional_drivers_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -