• Employers should put engineering and administrative controls in place to prevent on-the-job back injuries.
• Risk factors for back injury include amount of force, repetitive movement, body position, and general physical condition.

Back problems are among the most common types of injuries suffered on the job, some serious enough to require surgery and lengthy recovery periods. Other back injuries can lead to permanent disabilities and work restrictions.

What’s the importance?

Every year, thousands of American employees are disabled by musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), including back injury. Jobs that expose employees to excessive repetitive lifting, force (pushing/pulling), awkward postures, contact stress, or vibration are a major cause of this problem.

It’s important that employers implement controls to prevent back injuries. This may involve accommodating employees through design of tasks, work schedules, workstations, controls, tools, and equipment. In addition, it may involve engineering and designing equipment that reduces a job’s back injury risk.

What are the regulatory requirements?

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) cites ergonomic injuries under the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, Section 5(a)(1). All employees covered by OSHA fall under this section, which requires employers to provide a safe and healthful workplace from hazards that may exist. Employers should implement a plan in their workplace to eliminate, as best they can, any back-related hazards.

Specifically, employers can:

• Define clear goals and objectives for the ergonomic process, discuss them with their employees, assign responsibilities to designated staff members, and communicate clearly with the workforce.
• Encourage employees to report symptoms or injuries related to back injuries. Establish engineering controls to reduce the amount employees are required to lift throughout the workday.
• Establish evaluations and corrective action to periodically assess the effectiveness of the ergonomic process and to ensure its continuous improvement and long-term success.
• Involve employees in work-site assessments and solution development and implementation.
• Provide training for employees to ensure they are aware of ergonomics and its benefits.

What are the risk factors?

To implement the right controls for their workplace, employers should identify the risk factors most likely to cause injury to employees. Risk factors that may lead to the development of back injuries include:

• Excessive force — Exerting excessive force, including lifting or carrying heavy objects, pushing or pulling heavy loads, manually pouring materials, or maintaining control of equipment or tools.
• Repetitive motion — Performing the same or similar tasks repetitively, or the same motion or series of motions continually or frequently for an extended period of time. This includes repetitive twisting, bending, and reaching.
• Awkward postures — Working in awkward postures or being in the same posture for long periods of time, or using positions that place stress on the body, such as prolonged or repetitive reaching above shoulder height, leaning over a counter or work surface, or twisting the torso while lifting.
  • Prolonged sitting also stresses the body, particularly the lower back and the thighs, and may cause the lower back (lumbar) region to bow outward if there is inadequate support. This abnormal curvature (called kyphosis) can lead to painful lower back problems, a common complaint among drivers of dump trucks, backhoes, and other heavy construction equipment.
• Faulty body mechanics — Poor physical condition, lifting improperly, or poor posture.
• Other factors — Natural age-related degeneration of the back, inactivity both at work and at home, seasonal activity undertaken without prior physical conditioning, stress, and vibration.