Abstract
A mass examination of low-back pain was undertaken involving 288 male subjects working in an automobile industry.The subjects included “ motor vehicle operators ”, “ forklift operators” and workers whose jobs involved heavy lifting.At the initial examination, it was determined by questionnaire that 142 workers (49.3%) had experienced low-back pain at some point; and 73 (25.3%) were currently suffering from low-back pain.There were no significant differences between the 3 job classification groups. Upon further examination, we found that among workers who were experiencing continuous low-back pain, the rate of symptoms, (pain of motion, tenderness and neurological abnormalities) tended to be higher regardless of the frequency of past low-back pain.From the results of this study, we concluded that workers who had experienced low-back pain should be educated about preventative measures including lumbago exercises.It was also important that workers suffering from chronic low-back pain were properly diagnosed and advised as to the suitable treatment.
