Back symptoms are among the top ten reasons for medical visits. For 5% to 10% of patients, the back pain becomes chronic.
- In 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 372,683 back injury cases involving days away from work. Most cases involved workers who were aged 25–54 (79%), male (64%), and white, non-Hispanic (70%)
- Two occupational groups accounted for more than 54% of back injury cases: operators, fabricators, and laborers (38%); and precision production, craft, and repair (17%)
Data from scientific studies of primary and secondary interventions indicate that low back pain can be reduced by:
- Engineering controls (e.g., ergonomic workplace redesign)
- Administrative controls (specifically, adjusting work schedules and workloads)
- Programs designed to modify individual factors, such as employee exercise
- Combinations of these approaches
via CDC – Workplace Health – Implementation – Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) Prevention.