Is work a pain in the back?
Dated: 24 April 2012
Research carried out in Australia suggests that workers who resigned themselves to work in roles they did not enjoy were more likely to suffer persistent low back pain that those with a more positive attitude. The research, by Associate Professor Markus Melloh, an orthopaedic surgeon and rheumatologist with the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, will be presented at a Spine Society of Australia meeting in Sydney in late April.
Professor Melloh says of his findings "Attitude in the workplace and positive thinking has a huge impact on lower back pain".
The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) recognises that the workplace can be the source of many people's back problems, whether in a manual job or sitting at a desk all day. In fact, in a survey carried out in March 2012, the BCA found that 15% of people questioned, who were suffering with back or neck pain, specifically cited their work as being the cause of their problems.
Being aware of the problems that both lifting and carrying and sitting at a desk at work can present means that you stand a better chance of avoiding problems, the positive attitiude cited by the Australian research is something else to consider too!