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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on June 16, 2006
Occupational Medicine 2006 56(7):494-496; doi:10.1093/occmed/kql045
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

SHORT REPORT

Effects of driving on low back pain

Toshihiko Sakakibara, Yuichi Kasai and Atsumasa Uchida

Mie University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 174 2-chome Edobashi, Tsu-shi, Mie, 514-8507, Japan

Background Many previous studies have demonstrated that driving a car is a risk factor for low back pain (LBP). We have frequent contact with medical representatives who often drive cars for business, and have noticed that many of them suffer from LBP.

Aims To investigate how driving affected the occurrence of LBP in medical representatives.

Methods Questionnaire survey of all medical representatives working in Mie Prefecture (Japan).

Results A total of 551 medical representatives replied (92%). We divided the subjects into Group A (with LBP) and Group B (without LBP). There was no significant difference in mean age, height, weight or duration of continuous employment between the two groups. Mean total mileage was 342 539 km in Group A and 251 945 km in Group B (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in estimated daily mileage or estimated daily driving time between the two groups. As for backrest inclination, most of the respondents in Group A chose 105° and the majority in Group B chose 120° (P < 0.001).

Conclusion The total mileage was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B. We considered that the risk for LBP increased as the lumbar spine load accumulated day by day while driving a car almost every day without a holiday.

Keywords      Driving; low back pain; occupational; seating

Correspondence to: Toshihiko Sakakibara, Murase Hospital–Orthopaedic Surgery, 12-10, 3 Kanbe Suzuka Mie 513-0801. Tel: +81-593-82-0330; fax: +81-593-82-8562; e-mail: sakakitoshi{at}mac.com


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