[Complaints of low back pain among private farmers exposed to whole body vibration].
BACKGROUND
Work-related lower back disorders, which involve the lumbo-sacral region, as well as injuries of the lumbar section of the spine, are a serious and constantly growing problem in Europe. Whole body vibration is one of the major hazardous factors suspected of the development of back pain.


METHODS
The study covered a selected group of males, 98 farmers (aged 55.3 +/- 10.1) from the area of 7 communes in the Lublin Region, engaged in the mixed agricultural production (plant-animal). The control group consisted of 40 academic workers (university and research institute employees) aged 48.9 +/- 9.6 years. A questionnaire concerning low back pain (in the lumbar region) designed by the researchers of the Institute of Rural Health in Lublin was used as a major research tool. The degree of farmers' exposure to whole body vibration was evaluated based on the parameter known as a cumulative vibration dose (d) (years x m2 x s(-1)).


RESULTS
The measurements showed that the cumulative vibration dose for the selected group of farmers (98) remained within the range of 2.90-9.68 (years x m2 x s(-1)), in the time interval between 15-50 years of work in conditions of exposure to vibration. The survey confirmed that private farmers exposed to whole body vibration considerably more frequently complained of back pain (92 farmers, 94% of the total number of respondents), than academic workers (control group not exposed to whole body vibration (25 researchers, 63%); p < 0.0001. Also the frequency of back pain in all the three time intervals of employment (15-25, 26-35, 36-50 years) is significantly higher in the group of farmers than in the control group (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of back pains experienced by farmers during the entire period of occupational activity increases with a growing dose of whole body vibration (p = 0.005). In the incidence of chronic pain an upward tendency was observed (statistically insignificant).
Leszek
L
Solecki
D000047:Academies and Institutes; D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects*