The following factors were found to have consistent , but limited , support as regards their influence on the risk for sick leave due to back and neck disorders : ( a ) heavy physical workload , bent or twisted working position , and low work satisfaction increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( b ) specific back diagnoses and previous sick leave due to back disorders increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( c ) female gender , smoking , exposure to vibration , and deficient social support were not found to significantly increase the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( d ) self-reported pain and functional impairments were associated with a high risk for long-term sick leave ; ( e ) longer employment periods reduced the risk for short-term sick leave ; ( f ) perceived dem and s at work did not influence short-term sick leave ; ( g ) female gender and higher age increases the risk for disability pension
A longitudinal, prospective study of industrial back injury reporting.
The authors prospect ively evaluated 3020 volunteers of the Boeing-Everett plant to assess risk factors that predispose workers to file industrial back injury cl aims . During four years of follow-up observation , more than 279 subjects reported acute back problems .  The effect of the only predictive physical variable was explainable by a history of medical treatment . The most predictive individual factors were ( 1 ) job task dissatisfaction and ( 2 ) distress as reported on Scale 3 of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ( MMPI ) . This data perhaps explains why the focus on purely physical and injury-related factors has met with little success in dealing with what has become the most expensive orthopedic problem . Clinical ly , nonphysical factors that significantly impact the reporting of back injuries may also affect patients ' responses to medical treatment
The following factors were found to have consistent , but limited , support as regards their influence on the risk for sick leave due to back and neck disorders : ( a ) heavy physical workload , bent or twisted working position , and low work satisfaction increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( b ) specific back diagnoses and previous sick leave due to back disorders increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( c ) female gender , smoking , exposure to vibration , and deficient social support were not found to significantly increase the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( d ) self-reported pain and functional impairments were associated with a high risk for long-term sick leave ; ( e ) longer employment periods reduced the risk for short-term sick leave ; ( f ) perceived dem and s at work did not influence short-term sick leave ; ( g ) female gender and higher age increases the risk for disability pension