Use of radiography for screening employees for risk of low-back disability.

Low-back pain continues to be a major industrial health problem in terms of compensation costs and disability. Preemployment lumbar spine radiographic screening was first used on a large scale during the early post-World War II period. Since then, numerous publications have argued for or against its use. Nevertheless, studies have been limited to one company or industry, controls have been lacking, and the research design has often been poor. This paper summarizes the available information and argues for the need to design and implement a study to determine the value of preemployment radiographs in predicting future low-back pain and injuries.