Epidemiology of low back pain in women

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of low back pain [LBP] in a randomly selected sample of 1,000 women with five different jobs was studied over a 2-year period. The selected jobs comprised of farmers, manual workers, nurses, clerks, and housewives. Each group consisted of 200 cases. The rate of LBP was found to be different in various occupations [p=0.0001]. The study was based on interviews and the completion of a questionnaire followed by clinical examination. The overall prevalence rate of LBP during a lifetime and over a one-year period in women aged 25-45 years were 27.4% and 12.7%, respectively. The lifetime prevalence was 35% in farmers, 32.5% in manual workers, 28.5% in housewives, 26% in nurses and 15% in clerks. The obvious risk factor for LBP was age and the number of working years. The most prominent physical risk factor for LBP was "stooping". Remaining in a sitting position for more than 4 hours daily was also a clear risk factor. We found accentuated lordosis and positive straight-leg raising test as the most prevalent clinical signs. The salient plain radiological findings were traction spur, disc-space narrowing, and hyperlordosis