The trials suggest that work place exercise is effective , braces and education are ineffective , and workplace modification plus education is of unknown value in preventing low back pain
A systematic review of r and omised controlled trials was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of  workplace interventions  to prevent low back pain .
Lumbar supports and education for the prevention of low back pain in industry: a randomized controlled trial.
CONTEXT Low back pain is a frequent and costly health problem . Prevention of low back pain is important both for the individual patient and from an economic perspective . OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of lumbar supports and education in the prevention of low back pain in industry . DESIGN A r and omized controlled trial with a factorial design . SETTING The cargo department of an airline company in the Netherl and s. PARTICIPANTS A total of 312 workers were r and omized , of whom 282 were available for the 6-month follow-up . INTERVENTIONS Subjects were r and omly assigned to 4 groups : ( 1 ) education ( lifting instructions ) and lumbar support , ( 2 ) education , ( 3 ) lumbar support , and ( 4 ) no intervention . Education consisted of 3 group sessions on lifting techniques with a total duration of 5 hours . Lumbar supports were recommended to be used during working hours for 6 months . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Low back pain incidence and sick leave because of back pain during the 6-month intervention period . RESULTS Compliance with wearing the lumbar support at least half the time was 43 % . In the 282 subjects for whom data were available , no statistically significant differences in back pain incidence ( 48 [ 36 % ] of 134 with lumbar support vs 51 [ 34 % ] of 148 without , P=.81 ) or in sick leave because of low back pain ( mean , 0.4 days per month with lumbar support vs 0.4 days without , P=.52 ) were found among the intervention groups . In a subgroup of subjects with low back pain at baseline , lumbar supports reduced the number of days with low back pain per month ( median , 1.2 vs 6.5 days per month ; P=.03 ) . CONCLUSIONS Overall , lumbar supports or education did not lead to a reduction in low back pain incidence or sick leave . The results of the subgroup analysis need to be confirmed by future research . Based on our results , the use of education or lumbar supports can not be recommended in the prevention of low back pain in industry
The trials suggest that work place exercise is effective , braces and education are ineffective , and workplace modification plus education is of unknown value in preventing low back pain
A systematic review of r and omised controlled trials was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of  workplace interventions  to prevent low back pain .