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 .
Biomechanical evaluation of assistive devices for transferring residents.
This is the first of two articles to report a biomechanical evaluation and psychophysical assessment of nine battery-powered lifts , a sliding board , a walking belt , and a baseline manual method for transferring nursing home residents from a bed to a chair . The objectives of the biomechanical evaluation were : ( 1 ) to investigate the effects of transfer method and resident weight on the biomechanical stress to nursing assistants performing the transferring task , and ( 2 ) to identify  resident-transferring methods that could reduce the biomechanical stress to the nursing assistants . Nine nursing assistants served as test subjects ; two elderly persons participated as residents . A four-camera motion analysis system , two force platforms , and a three-dimensional biomechanical model were used to measure biomechanical load . The results indicate that transfer method and resident weight affect a nursing assistant 's low-back loading . The basket-sling and overhead lift devices significantly reduced the nursing assistants ' back-compressive forces during the preparation phase of a resident transfer . In addition , the use of basket-sling , overhead , and st and -up lifts removed about two-thirds of the exposure to low-back stress ( lifting activities per transfer ) as compared to the baseline manual method . Thus , the use of these devices reduces biomechanical stress , and thereby will decrease the occurrence of  resident-h and ling-related low-back injuries . Furthermore , lifting device maneuvering forces were found to be significantly different and a number of design /use problems were identified with various assistive devices . The second article will detail the psychophysical assessment of the same resident-transferring methods
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 .