Survey of Occupational Low Back Pain among “Okonomiyaki” Cooks

Abstract

We investigated the actual conditions of occupational low back pain among “okonomiyaki” cooks. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 64 “okonomiyaki” restaurants in A city, Hiroshima. Thirty-five “okonomiyaki” restaurant cooks（collection rate: 54.7%）returned the questionnaire. Low back pain was noted in 22 cooks（62.9%）out of the 35 cooks. Regarding the pain intensity in the low back pain group, seven cooks showed the severest low back pain. In the free descriptive response, most answers showed that the movements while in the standing position caused the pain. In this study, the prevalence rate of current low back pain among “okonomiyaki” cooks was higher than that among the other cooks. These results suggest that the low back pain of “okonomiyaki” cooks might be an occupational health risk.