Back Injury and Low Back Pain - Heavy Burden For the Construction Industry

Low back pain is the most common job related disability. Construction has the highest rate of back injuries in all types of industry, except for transportation. The rate of back injuries in construction, 25%, is notably higher than the average rate for all other industries. The costs of missed days of work and back injury claims are higher than any other type of industry. In 2004, construction had the most lost time due to back injuries with 51.2 injuries per 10,000 full-time workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2005, a total of 4.2 million injuries and illnesses were reported in private industry and approximately 2.2 million of these resulted in days off work or restricted duties. Each year, a back injury causes 1 out of 100 construction workers to miss work. The amount of work missed averages 7 days but it can extend as long as 30 days. These injuries are a huge economic burden to the construction industry due to lost productivity and absenteeism, medical costs and benefits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics points out that middle-aged workers who have severe low back pain and carry out physically demanding work, as in construction, are much more likely to leave the industry due to disability than are other workers. The Bureau speculates that the number of back injuries is actually even higher due to under reporting,

Most of the back injuries to construction workers affect the low back. Within the construction field, masonry workers have the highest rate of back injuries, approximately 1.6 times higher than the average rate for all of the construction trades. Back problems are the most common among these workers as they do heavy lifting and carrying.

Factors Associated with Back Injury

• Stressful living and work activities


• Poor body mechanics when lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying things


• Repetitive lifting of awkward items, equipment, boxes, etc.


• Twisting while lifting


• Bending while lifting


• Reaching while lifting


• Lifting an object that is too heavy or unwieldy for one person to handle safely


• Fatigue


• Poor footing such as on a slippery floor or uneven ground


• Lifting with a forceful movement


• Maintaining bent or stooped posture for prolonged periods, fatiguing muscles


• Staying in one position for too long with no stretch breaks, allowing muscles to become stiff


• Poor layout of work area


• Poor posture when sitting


• Poor physical condition - losing the strength and endurance to perform physical tasks without strain


• Vibration from a motor such as in a lift truck, a delivery truck, or from using a jackhammer for long periods resulting in increased muscle tension

Determining the cause of low back injuries in construction can be difficult because of the variety of work that is involved and the different methods that can be used to accomplish a job. The materials handled, body positions that are necessary, and the work conditions are different for each of the trades. Identifying the types of general construction tasks is the first step in designing safer ways to get the job done. When improved methods are used, there is a greater chance of reducing worker injury.

A project funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. (NIOSHA) evaluated the construction industry to identify areas of risk so more appropriate interventions could be developed. It identified:

High Risk Construction Tasks

Framing

• Working at ground level and having to reach up when using a saw, nail gun, etc.


• Lifting building materials from ground level


• Manually lifting trusses to top of a second story


• Lifting and carrying plywood flooring


• Lifting assembled walls


• Moving materials to a second story

Drywall

• Lifting sheets of drywall from ground level


• Completing prep work such as sanding or cutting at or near ground level


• Installation of dry wall sheets near ground level


• Overhead installation of drywall on ceilings or high walls

Masonry

• Distributing blocks or bricks throughout worksite from delivered piles with a wheelbarrow


• Redistributing blocks or bricks from temporary files using a bucket or by hand


• Erecting scaffolding


• Lifting and positioning metal framework


• Lifting and placing flooring of scaffold


• Lifting bricks or blocks up to people on a scaffold by hand or using a bucket


• Laying a brick or block foundation


• Laying brick near or below ground level


• Lifting bags to mixer


• Shoveling

With the huge volume of low back injuries in construction, employers suffer as well as the workers. According to Liberty Mutual, the largest workers' compensation insurance provider in the US, back injuries and overexertion injuries from lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying or holding an object cost employers $13.4 billion every year!