Proper manual handling techniques to prevent low back pain, a Cochrane systematic review

Training and provision of assistive devices are considered major interventions to prevent and treat low back pain (LBP) among workers exposed to manual material handling (MMH). To establish the effectiveness of training and provision of assistive devices in preventing and treating LBP an update of a Cochrane literature review was performed to November 2010. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies with a concurrent control group (CCTs) were included. Nine RCTs (20.101 employees) and nine CCTs (1280 employees) were included for prevention: six more than in the previous version. No study on treatment was found. None of the included RCTs and CCTs provided evidence that training and provision of assistive devices prevented LBP when compared to no intervention or another intervention.     

Experimental study of assistant aids and new nursing method in nursing care work

This study seeks to evaluate the effect of regular and new nursing methods in nursing care work. Nursing care work often causes low back pain in nursing care worker. The principle of not lifting when transferring patients has been proposed as one way to prevent low back pain. This principle incorporates the use of the patient's strength and assistant aids. A sliding seats and transfer boards have been proposed as assistant aids for the transferring patients. It is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these assistant aids in preventing low back pain. Ten subjects performed two tasks in this experiment. Five were nursing experienced persons and five were the inexperienced. EMG results indicated that the new nursing method was less stressful than the methods. A questionnaire revealed that the new method was evaluated more highly than the regular method. Based on these results, we propose that a sliding seats and transfer boards be used in nursing care work.     

Premarital sexual permissiveness and contraceptive knowledge: A biracial comparison of college students

The relationship between college students' knowledge of contraceptive devices and techniques and their attitudes toward premarital sexual permissiveness was investigated. This study examined selected background variables of the respondents to determine possible effects on the relationship. The sample was composed of 392 students enrolled in a college and a university in Virginia. A questionnaire was developed which included a premarital sexual permissiveness scale, an instrument measuring knowledge of contraceptive devices and techniques devised by the investigators, and items gathering information on background variables.

A positive relationship was found to exist between knowledge of contraceptive devices and techniques and premarital sexual permissiveness. As permissiveness scores increased, knowledge scores tended to follow a similar trend. Sex and race of the respondent influenced this relationship. Males were found to be more permissive but less knowledgeable than females. Whites tended to be more knowledgeable about contraception than blacks, but both groups were about equally permissive.     

Participatory ergonomic intervention for prevention of low back pain: assembly line redesign case

This paper gives an overview of a participatory ergonomic intervention aimed at reducing low back pain cases in the dispatch department of a catalogue and e-commerce retail company. Based on the findings of the ergonomic analysis and design committee, the company's own employees redesigned the assembly line's layout. As a result of these changes two job tasks that involved manual material handling of boxes, identified by the revised NIOSH equation as posing an increased risk for lifting-related low back pain, were totally eliminated, and the employees responsible for moving boxes from the end of the assembly line to pallets on the ground were given more control over their jobs, and these jobs were also enriched with a new, less heavy task. These results demonstrate that participatory ergonomic interventions are a viable and effective strategy to reduce the exposure to work-related physical and psychosocial risk factors for low back pain.     

Low back pain and lifting: a review of epidemiology and aetiology

The incidence of low back pain has continued to increase in modern society, despite the considerable amount of scientific research that has aimed to isolate its exact aetiology. Although low back pain is still largely idiopathic, research has identified over one hundred risk factors for the condition. Of these risk factors, manual material handling tasks are perhaps the most widely explored within the biomechanical literature, as these tasks have been associated with high mechanical stresses on the lower back. Numerous technique-related variables have been addressed by researchers, whilst the influence of intra-abdominal pressure has also been considered. In addition to this, the implications of variations in the size and structural composition of the load have also been assessed. However, low back pain continues to pose a significant threat to the financial stability and happiness of millions of people worldwide. In addition, a number of functional work capacity assessment tests use lifting as a method for assessment of return to work condition. Many of these tests are not standardised and do not consider the implications of low back loading. Therefore new research attempts in this area are justified and should aim to identify the extent of the association that exists between the known risk factors and the incidence of low back pain.     

Screening of risk from patient manual handling with MAPO method

International standards highlight the steps required by risk assessment and involving first hazard identification, then risk evaluation and finally, if necessary, risk assessment. To check approach appropriateness to "risk evaluation" from manual patient handling through MAPO, a cross study was carried out in view of checking relationship between this new risk assessment model and occurrence of acute low back pain. After proper training the MAPO screening method was assessed in 31 wards, 411 exposed subjects of geriatric hospitals. At the same time health data were collected on occurrence of low back pain episodes during the last year both in the exposed subjects' group and the external reference group (n?237). Risk and clinical assessment data were tutored and checked by EPM research unit. The logistic analysis was used as a method to evaluate the relationship between risk index and acute low back pain. Investigating relationship between acute low back pain episodes and levels of MAPO screening index, carried out only with the people exposed who claimed to work for at least 30 hours per week (n = 178), showed definitely positive trends. The study results indicate that MAPO screening may represent a useful tool to estimate the risk from manual handling patients.     

The evaluation of team lifting on physical work demands and workload in ironworkers

Lifting and carrying heavy loads occur frequently among ironworkers and result in high prevalence and incidence rates of low back complaints, injuries and work-disability. From a health perspective, little information is available on the effect of team lifting on work demands and workload. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the effects of team lifting of maximally 50 kg by two ironworkers (T50) with team lifting of maximally 100 kg by four ironworkers (T100). This study combined a field and laboratory study with the following outcome measures: duration and frequency of tasks and activities, energetic workload, perceived discomfort and maximal compression forces (Fc peak) on the low back. The physical work demands and workload of an individual iron worker during manual handling of rebar materials of 100 kg with four workers did not differ from the manual handling of rebar materials of 50 kg with two workers, with the exception of low back discomfort and Fc peak. The biomechanical workload of the low back exceeded for both T50 and T100 the NIOSH threshold limit of 3400N. Therefore, mechanical transport or other effective design solutions should be considered to reduce the biomechanical workload of the low back and the accompanying health risks among iron workers.     

Computer‐Based Career Planning Systems: Dreams and Realities

The authors look back more than 30 years to those who introduced the use of the computer as an important new tool to assist students in the area of career development. To what extent have dreams been realized and concerns allayed? Rapid advances in technology, not included in the authors' vision, have transformed the world into a different place. How have these advances affected the use of computers in counseling? The article concludes with a list of current concerns, along with recommendations for further action and research.     

Assessments of patients with a 5-category or a 3-category practical classification system: validaty and practicality

In order to implement preventive programs to prevent back pain in nurses, assessments of the degree of passivity and mobility of patients is imperative. After all, the load in health care ergonomics, is often the patient. The degree of cooperation or resistance determines the load on the back for the nurses and the necessity of the use of lifting devices like patient lifters or sliding sheets. These assessments must be done in both a practical and a reliable way. For this purpose a 3-category and a 5- category system to assess the degree of patient mobility and passivity was developed and tested. The results are presented on the poster.     

African American Mothers’ Disciplinary Responses: Associations with Family Background Characteristics, Maternal Childrearing Attitudes, and Child Manageability

Eighty-nine African American mothers of preschoolers reported on their levels of family stress, attitudes about and use of specific disciplinary responses, and their expected outcomes for their children as a result of each type. Independently, teachers reported on the children’s manageability in the preschool classroom. Results indicated that mothers reported more negotiation than coercion. However, when mothers used coercion, they reportedly did so because they believed that it was the only way that they could get their children to behave, negotiation was negatively associated with maternal endorsement of traditional childrearing attitudes. On the other hand, mothers who experienced high levels of family stress tended to use privilege withdrawal as their disciplinary method of choice. Although family income was generally unrelated to the study variables, lower income and less educated mothers were less likely than other mothers to believe that spanking is associated with negative outcomes for children. Overall, these results support the idea that African American parents’ conceptions of discipline are influenced by individual family characteristics, such as stress, endorsement of traditional versus modern ideas of parenting, and expectations about their children’s responses to specific disciplinary techniques.     

Musculoskeletal symptoms among dentists in relation to work posture

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of work posture on musculosketal complaints in Israeli dentists. METHODS: The population included 60 male dentists mean age was 46.0 (+/- SD 8.66), 30 worked in sitting position and 30 were altering positions. Study population completed the standardized Nordic questionnaire and informative form concerning recipient's practice of dentistry, bio-demographic variables and questions about workloads. RESULTS: Musculoskeletal symptoms in the last 12 months were localized primarily in the lower back and in the neck (55% and 38.3% respectively). There was a significant correlation between the time spent sitting and the severity of low back pain (r = 0.41, p = 0.01). On the other hand there was no significant correlation between time spent sitting and other musculoskeletal complaints (r = - 0.16). CONCLUSIONS: Dentists who work in the sitting position have more severe low back pain than do those who alternate between sitting and standing despite the fact that those who sat at least 80% of the time worked less hours and had less of a workload during their working hours. This suggests that altering position should be recommended to dentists. An intervention study, however, is needed to demonstrate that changing posture will decrease the prevalence of low back pain in dentists.     

Page turning solutions for musicians: a survey

Musicians have long been hampered by the challenge in turning sheet music while their hands are occupied playing an instrument. The sight of a human page turner assisting a pianist during a performance, for instance, is not uncommon. This need for a page turning solution is no less acute during practice sessions, which account for the vast majority of playing time. Despite widespread appreciation of the problem, there have been virtually no robust and affordable products to assist the musician. Recent progress in assistive technology and electronic reading devices offers promising solutions to this long-standing problem. The objective of this paper is to survey the technology landscape and assess the benefits and drawbacks of page turning solutions for musicians. A full range of mechanical and digital page turning products are reviewed.     

What's (Not) Wrong With Low‐Income Marriages

In the United States, low marriage rates and high divorce rates among the poor have led policymakers to target this group for skills‐ and values‐based interventions. The current research evaluated the assumptions underlying these interventions; specifically, the authors examined whether low‐income respondents held less traditional values toward marriage, had unrealistic standards for marriage, and had more problems managing relational problems than higher income respondents. They assessed these issues in a stratified random sample that oversampled low‐income and non‐White populations (N = 6,012). The results demonstrated that, relative to higher income respondents, low‐income respondents held more traditional values toward marriage, had similar romantic standards for marriage, and experienced similar skills‐based relationship problems. Low‐income groups had higher economic standards for marriage and experienced more problems related to economic and social issues (e.g., money, drinking/drug use) than did higher income respondents. Thus, efforts to save low‐income marriages should directly confront the economic and social realities these couples face.     

Promoting object constancy. Writing as a nursing intervention

1. Object constancy is an important developmental milestone that many psychiatric patients have not achieved. 2. Asking patients to write down thoughts and feelings will assist the nurse in reinforcing a continuous experience of self as a necessary antecedent to self and object constancy. 3. Object constancy allows the patient to be more autonomous in relationships. Writing will help the patient become more independent in managing thoughts and feelings. 4. Using an object relations framework for this commonly prescribed nursing intervention will assist nurses in providing a focus and goal for the use of writing.     

Does fairness matter in tax reporting behavior?

Experimental results show that taxpayers who receive no public transfer generally perceive their exchange equity with the government to be less equitable than taxpayers who receive a public transfer. Furthermore, the effect of the public transfer on reported income depends on the extent to which the taxpayers use the perception of equity in their tax reporting decisions. Subjects who perceive equity to be important in their tax reporting decisions report more income when they receive a public transfer, but report less income when they receive no public transfer, as predicted by equity theory. In contrast, subjects who perceive equity to be less important in their tax reporting decisions act directionally consistent with the economic effect. That is, taxpayers who receive no public transfer tend to report more income than those who receive a public transfer.     

Injury prevention in physiotherapists--a scientific review

This review targeted all research previously conducted on the topic of musculoskeletal disorders and injury among physiotherapists, with a particular focus on studies that had examined individual, physical and psychosocial risk factors and provided suggestions or recommendations to prevent such injuries. Scientific literature published in English languages was searched using electronic way. A total of 17 appropriate studies were located and examined, most of which had focused on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders/pan or any other injury. From the review, it was shown that major risk factors among the physiotherapist were manual therapy, repetitive movement, awkward and static posture, physical load, lifting and transferring, treating large number of patients treating in a single day, working while injured, years of experience. The preventive measures that described in these literatures were awareness of reporting of injury, use of less manual therapy, proper exercise, formulation of new devices, intervention at the level of workplace, work schedule allocation, proper training, ongoing risk assessment and control.     

Influences of mechanical exposure biographies on physical capabilities of workers from automotive industry - a study on possible dose-response relationships and consequences for short and long term job rotation

This paper describes a field study in production areas of a vehicle manufacturing plant, where 106 male workers (aged from 20 to 63 years) were examined and interviewed by the authors. Aim of study was to identify relationships between specific physical worker capabilities and doses of mechanical exposures using self-developed standardized questionnaires as well as a battery of work-specific tests. The dependent variables are different "physical capabilities", classified using a five-point rating scale with regard to the grade of limitation of the respective capability. Independent variables are "age" and specific "mechanical exposures". Several exposures were combined and multiplied with their respective durations in order to determine doses on three different body regions - back, shoulder-neck and upper limbs. There are significant positive correlations between "age" and "dose of mechanical exposure on back/shoulder-neck/upper limbs region". The analysis of the relationship between dose of exposure and different capabilities to lift or reposition loads (with variable weight) shows weak significant correlations for all three body regions. Data analysis shows no significant correlations between any dose of mechanical exposure and capabilities to work in awkward body postures.These results should be considered in age management programs when scheduling future employee assignments to workplaces, especially for production systems where manual handling tasks are dominant.     

The effects of back belts and load on selected lifting kinematics during a simulated patient transfer

This study used two dimensional biomechanical analysis to examine the effects of back belts and lifting load on selected lifting kinematics during a simulated patient transfer. A human manikin placed in a sitting position was attached to a customized lifting apparatus which controlled the lifting load and direction of the manikin. Eighteen female participants, between the age of 21 and 27, completed six lifts (sit to stand transfers) of the manikin. Three lifts were completed at the 30 lb load condition (no belt, belt 1 and belt 2) and three lifts were completed at the 50 lb load condition (no belt, belt 1 and belt 2). A doubly two way ANOVA found a significant main effect for the belt condition, F(12,6)=10.06, P=0.002. There was no significant effect for load and no interaction existed between belt and load. The results revealed a significant decrease in trunk flexion when participants wore the wider (nine inch) belt during the 30~lb lifts when compared to the no belt trials. No significant differences were found in trunk flexion means with the narrower width (six inch) belt. No significant differences were found in trunk spinal flexion with either belt condition during the 50 lb lifts. There were no significant differences found in either of the belts in the means of lifting time, knee flexion, elbow flexion, forward displacement of the lifter's center of mass, and the lifter's maximum center of mass velocity. The results suggest that wider back belts may be more effective at reducing spinal flexion during patient lifting under moderate load conditions when compared to narrower back belts and to no-belted controls.     

Comparing two types of navigational interfaces for Virtual Reality

Previous studies suggest significant differences between navigating virtual environments in a life-like walking manner (i.e., using treadmills or walk-in-place techniques) and virtual navigation (i.e., flying while really standing). The latter option, which usually involves hand-centric devices (e.g., joysticks), is the most common in Virtual Reality-based studies, mostly due to low costs, less space and technology demands. However, recently, new interaction devices, originally conceived for videogames have become available offering interesting potentialities for research. This study aimed to explore the potentialities of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board as a navigation interface in a Virtual Environment presented in an immersive Virtual Reality system. Comparing participants' performance while engaged in a simulated emergency egress allows determining the adequacy of such alternative navigation interface on the basis of empirical results. Forty university students participated in this study. Results show that participants were more efficient when performing navigation tasks using the Joystick than with the Balance Board. However there were no significantly differences in the behavioral compliance with exit signs. Therefore, this study suggests that, at least for tasks similar to the studied, the Balance Board have good potentiality to be used as a navigation interface for Virtual Reality systems.     

BASE als Programm zur Pr?vention von (Rücken-)Beschwerden in der betrieblichen Gesundheitsf?rderung

Common occupational health problems, especially low back pain, are associated with physical demands of work, like lifting heavy weights. The study examined a multidimensional methodological approach (BASE) to reduce physical stresses in a logistic company in three stages: (1) theoretical background and implementation of the program, (2) evaluation of outcome-effects of a box lifting training (10 weeks) and (3) learning and lasting effects of workers?? knowledge and behaviour with regard to ergonomic box lifting. Video analysis and questionnaires were used for breakdown analysis. Stage (2) and (3) collected intervention effects with a controlled pre?\post test design (N?=?41 males; 37.8?±?10.8 y.). The breakdown analysis revealed low back pain (65?%) as a result of repeated manual lifting processes. Participants of the intervention showed a more ergonomic movement initiated by a more functional cognitive representation in long term memory. We suggest that especially this group of employees, with little motivation to participate in health promotion, benefit from the whole methodological approach of the BASE-program.