Back Pain and Lower Back Injuries in Home Construction

If You Work in Construction or are a Builder You are familier with back pain

Causes of Low Back Pain

Construction workers, as a group, perform a wide range of job tasks and consequently have a wide range of exposures in the workplace that can lead to low back pain. Low back pain can be classified in one of two groups: acute or cumulative. Acute low back pain occurs as a result of a single action that injures the back. Known risk factors for acute injuries include:

Heavy Work
Manual Materials Handling (MMH)
Requirements for Sudden Unexpected Maximal Effort

Cumulative injuries occur as a result of many harmful actions over a period of time. Each individual action, while not painful by itself, contributes to the onset of low back pain. Known risk factors for cumulative injuries include:

Heavy Work
Manual Materials Handling (MMH)
Pushing
Twisting
Frequent Lifting (over 25 pounds)
Stooped Postures
Awkward Postures (i.e., twisting while stooped)
Prolonged Overhead Work
Recoil Impact

The Cost of Low Back Pain

There is growing concern over the costs both from lost productivity and medical care associated with work related injuries and illnesses. The overall rates at which compensation claims are filed in the construction trades are high compared to the general work force in the United States.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported an overall rate of lost time or medical compensation claims of 8.4 per 100 full time workers in 1994. During the same year a rate of

11.8 per 100 full time workers was reported among the construction trades (U.S. Dept of Labor, 1995)

16 (other construction by general contractors), and

17 (construction by special trade contractors)

The National Safety council reported for 12 surveyed states between 1985 1987 that occupational back injuries were the most frequent work related disorder, representing 22% of all reported cases, and accounting for 32% of all workers' compensation dollars paid in these states (Federal Register, 1992). The problem is significant and the magnitude is increasing.

Identification of Difficult Jobs

Determining the cause of low back injuries in the construction industry is difficult due to the variety of work methods that can be used to perform the same task. In addition, the types of materials handling required, body postures most commonly used, and work conditions are different for each of the trades. Therefore, it is important to identify general construction tasks which require workers to undergo one or more of the high risk factors previously mentioned. The tasks can then be retooled or the work practice modified to reduce the worker’s exposure. The following tasks have been identified as high risk:

FRAMING
- Working at ground level (nail gun, saw, etc.)
- Lifting building materials from ground level
- Manually lifting trusses to top of second story
- Lifting and carrying plywood flooring
- Lifting assembled walls
- Moving materials to 2nd story
DRYWALL
- Lifting sheets of drywall from at or near ground level.
- Prep work on drywall sheets (cutting/sanding) at or near ground level.
- Installation of dry wall sheets near ground level.
- Overhead installation (either ceilings or high walls)
MASONRY
- Distribution of block/brick throughout work site from delivered piles (using a wheelbarrow)
- Re-distribution of block/brick from temporary piles (by hand or bucket)
- Erecting scaffolding - lifting/positioning metal framework - lifting/placing flooring of scaffold
- Lifting bricks and mortar to people on scaffolding (thrown or bucket)
- Laying the block foundation
- Laying brick near or below ground level (on ground and scaffolding)
- Lifting heavy bags up to mixer and shoveling

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