Felling work, low-back pain and osteoarthritis

Low-back pain and the occurrence of osteoarthritis were investigated among 226 lumberjacks employed in felling work for an average of 20 a. The reference group comprised 98 persons involved in either light physical work or office activities. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with regard to the occurrence of low-back pain and the subjective degree of low-back pain. According to the radiographic findings the lumberjacks had statistically more occurrences (62%) of disc degeneration than the referents (50%). No association between length of exposure to felling work and the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration could be established. The occurrence of osteoarthritis in the hip and knee joints of the lumberjacks was 5 and 3% for the lumberjacks and the referents, respectively.