Overall studies showed that nursing activities conferred increased risk for , and were associated with back disorders regardless of nursing technique , personal characteristics , and non-work-related factors .
Patient h and ling appears to confer the highest risk , but other nursing duties are also associated with elevated risk , and confound dose – response assessment s related to patient h and ling alone .
A threshold of nursing activities below which the risk of back disorders is not elevated has not been established .
Abstract Background : Although non-specific low back pain ( LBP ) is known to be multifactorial , studies from across the globe have documented their higher prevalence in nurses .
This systematic review was conducted to ascertain whether this much-documented association constitutes a causal relationship , and whether there is a discernible threshold of exposures associated with this elevated risk .
Reducing back stress to nursing personnel: an ergonomic intervention in a nursing home.
A prospect i ve epidemiologic study was conducted in two units ( 140 beds and 57 nursing assistants ) of a nursing home to demonstrate the efficacy of an ergonomic intervention strategy to reduce  back stress to nursing personnel . The total programme involved the following : determining patient h and ling tasks perceived to be most stressful by the nursing assistants ( NAs ) ; performing an ergonomic evaluation of these tasks ; and conducting a laboratory study to select patient transferring devices perceived to produce less physical stress than existing manual patient-h and ling methods . The intervention phase included training NAs in the use of these devices , modifying toilets and shower rooms , and applying techniques to patient care . Immediately after completing the intervention programme , a post-intervention analysis ( which lasted eight months in unit 1 and four months in unit 2 ) was performed . A biomechanical evaluation of the physical dem and s required to perform stressful patient-h and ling tasks showed that the mean compressive force on the L5/S1 disc , the mean h and force required to make a transfer , and the strength requirements ( expressed as percentage female population capable ) were 1964 N , 122 N , and 83 % after intervention as compared to 4751 N , 312 N , and 41 % before intervention . Subjectively , the mean rating of perceived exertion was less than ' very light ' after intervention as compared to between ' somewhat hard ' and ' hard ' before intervention . Overall , the mean acceptability rates for the walking belt and the mechanical hoist were 81 % and 87 % for patient transfers . The incidence rate for back injuries prior to the intervention , 83 per 200,000 work-hours , decreased to 47 per 200,000 work-hours after the intervention . There were no injuries result ing in lost or restricted work days during the last four months of the post-intervention . It is concluded that an appropriate ergonomic intervention programme offers great promise in reducing physical stress and risk of low-back pain to nursing personnel . However , large-scale studies in different nursing homes are needed to confirm the above findings
Overall studies showed that nursing activities conferred increased risk for , and were associated with back disorders regardless of nursing technique , personal characteristics , and non-work-related factors .
Patient h and ling appears to confer the highest risk , but other nursing duties are also associated with elevated risk , and confound dose – response assessment s related to patient h and ling alone .
A threshold of nursing activities below which the risk of back disorders is not elevated has not been established .
Abstract Background : Although non-specific low back pain ( LBP ) is known to be multifactorial , studies from across the globe have documented their higher prevalence in nurses .
This systematic review was conducted to ascertain whether this much-documented association constitutes a causal relationship , and whether there is a discernible threshold of exposures associated with this elevated risk .