Epidemiological aspects of back pain: the incidence and prevalence of back pain in nurses compared to the general population

Two studies using retrospective questionnaires were conductedto obtain epidemiological information from nursing personnel(n= 1134) and among an age-and gender-matched cross-secton ofthe general population (n= 315). The point and annual prevalenceof back pain did not differ between the two sample groups. Nursesdemonstrated a greater annual incidence of back pain (14.7%,compared to 11.5% in non-nurses). The point prevalence of backpain increased with age in both sample groups. Nurses consideredpatient-handling tasks instrumental in the onset of back painsymptoms. Comparison of results with those obtained from a similarstudy published in 1983 indicated an increase of almost 40%in the prevalence of back pain symptoms in nurses, althoughthe linearity of the rise was not ascertained. The implementationof guidelines on the manual handling of loads has led to revisedtraining procedures and these may have influenced the epidemiologicalfindings.