FREQUENCY OF WORK RELATED LOW BACK PAIN AMONG PHYSICAL THERAPISTS

Abstract

To find out the frequency of work, related to Low Back Pain (LBP) among
physical therapist of tertiary care hospital of Karachi. To analyze the effects of
physical activity level, sub-specialty areas and Body Mass Index (BMI) on Work
Related Low Back Pain (WRLBP) as well.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with non-probability convenience
sampling technique was used.
The study included 265 Physical Therapist working in Tertiary Care Hospitals of
Karachi.
Data was collected throughpre-tested, structured and self-administered
questionnaire and then,wasanalyzed on SPSS version 17.
This study reported that prevalence of WRLBP was 66.4%. The rate was higher in
femalephysiotherapist, that is, 42.6%. Data revealed that, 69% of respondents
experienced WRLBP within 2 years of their practices. Moreover, the manual
therapy was found to be the most common cause for WRLBP. No significant
association was found between BMIand physical activitylevel of physical
therapist, but interestingly, it was found that sub-specialty area of work was
correlated with WRLBP.
The rate of WRLBP has been found to be high in physical therapists due to their
profession. It is therefore, required to build up an effective ergonomic strategy,
strengthen training for prevention at undergraduate level in order to reduce
and prevent WRLBP.