Spine pain in the firefighter profession

• Authors: Żanna Fiodorenko-Dumas , Agnieszka Kurkowska , Małgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz

Abstracts

EN

Background Musculoskeletal disorders mainly affecting the spine constitute one of the major social problems. Frequently, they constitute the cause of prolonged absence at work. Working in a fire brigade is specific because of the physical strain, working time under adverse conditions or stress related to rescue operations. Material and Methods The study group comprised 61 firefighters, 60 men (98.36%) and 1 woman (1.64%). The age of examined firefighters ranged 20–56 years old. The average age of the examined persons was 33.77 years old and the average working service in a fire brigade was 9.59 years. The following research instruments were applied as the study methods: own survey, the Numerical Rating Scale, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – long version and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) questionnaire. The Pearson correlation coefficient at significance level of p < 0.05 was used for determining the dependencies among the variables. Results Knowledge of ergonomic lifting and handling principles concerning heavy loads was reported by 84% of the group, the remaining 16% declared ignorance of such rules. The dependence of pain on the length of service of the examined was insignificant and amounted to 0.281 Pearson’s r. The results of the ODI questionnaire did not significantly change statistically with age. Conclusions The IPAQ confirmed the high level of physical activity of the study population. Even though the study group was small, the results of ODI showed a minor degree of disability. Med Pr 2018;69(4):365–373

Keywords

PL

disability; pain; firefighters; load; spinal; ergonomics of work

EN

Disability; pain; firefighters; load; spinal; ergonomics of work

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: Medycyna Pracy
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 365-373

Dates

published

2018

Contributors

author

Żanna Fiodorenko-Dumas

• Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland (Department of Physiotherapy)

author

Agnieszka Kurkowska

• Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland (Department of Physiotherapy)

author

Małgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz

• Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland (Department of Physiotherapy)

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/mp.5893.00679

Biblioteka Nauki

2162482