Low Back Disability and Long Distance Travelling; A Study Among Truck Drives

Abstract

Background: Low back pain is a common problem related with the musculo skeletal system. Abnormal and persistent working posture is among the major causes. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the association of Low Back Disability (LBD) with long distance travelling in truck drivers of Lahore, Pakistan. Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among the truck drivers during the period of December 2015 to May 2016. Convenient sampling technique was adopted. A sample size of 377 was taken by Rao soft online calculator. The data was recorded on a self-structured questionnaire. Modified oswestery low back disability index was used for level of LBD. Data was analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Chi-square test was applied to find the association between low back pain disability and travel hours. p valve ≤ .05 was considered statistically significant Results: A total of 377 truck drivers were included in the study. The age of drivers ranged from 18-67 years and travelling time of drivers, in a week ranged from 15 hours to 124 hours. The truck drivers with 1-20 years of experience of long distance travelling participated in the study. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was a strong association between travelling hours and LBD.