title: The effect of flooring on musculoskeletal symptoms in the lower extremities and low back among female nursing assistants.
abstract: This study examines the effect of changing the floor from a 2-mm homogenous vinyl floor to a 4-mm heterogeneous vinyl floor (1.5-mm wear layer and 2.5-mm foam layer) on musculoskeletal symptoms in the lower extremities and low back among nursing assistants in a geriatric care centre. A pre-post design with a reference group consisting of nursing assistants from a similar geriatric care centre was used. Follow-up measurements were carried out 12 and 24 months after the intervention by means of questionnaires. At the 1-year follow-up, the pain intensity score in the feet of the intervention group had decreased compared with the baseline value and remained statistically significant at the 2-year follow-up. The decrease in pain intensity score of the feet in the intervention group was statistically significantly different from the reference group, both after 1 and 2 years.
  The results show the importance of flooring in the workplace with regard to reducing musculoskeletal symptoms. Appropriate flooring is especially important in the female-dominated health care sector, where workers must stand or walk for long periods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Clinical Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. jens.wahlstrom@envmed.umu.se
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wahlström
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ostman
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Leijon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings / Q000145:classification* / Q000592:standards; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005528:Foot; D006621:Hip Joint; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint; D017116:Low Back Pain; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008875:Middle Aged; D009728:Nursing Assistants; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult