Low Back Disorders in Heavy Jobs and their Control: Studies with Nurses and Steel Workers

Work-related low back disorders (WLBD) are frequent and costly. Female nurses (N) and male steel workers (SW) are among professionals with highest WLBD rates. This book is divided in fifteen chapters presenting multiple studies on WLBD in N and SW. Chapters 1 to 5 represents the foundation of the research conducted, and chapters 6 to 15 present the results, discussion, and conclusions of the studies and research as a whole. This book may be of interest to graduate students, researchers, health and safety officers and policy makers interested in low back disorders in the workplace and their prevention. Injury records were reviewed and a questionnaire survey was conducted on 47 and 108 steel workers (SW). A functional capacity evaluation (25 N and 25 SW) and a biomechanical demand analysis of manual handling and patient transfers (36 N), and of punching tasks (23 SW) were performed. Evidence-based recommendations for modifications and training programs to reduce the risk of WLBD have been proposed.