Exercise Intervention for Health Research Group (EXINH-RG), Department of Physiotherapy, University of Valencia, C/Gascó Oliag 5, CP 46010, Valencia, Spain.
National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2020 Feb;93(2):189-196. doi: 10.1007/s00420-019-01468-7. Epub 2019 Aug 27.
Physical therapists (PTs) have a high risk of developing musculoskeletal pain (MP) due to the physically demanding nature of their work tasks. Experience or the specialty area, have been associated with MP, however, previous studies are few and small. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between work-related factors and MP among PTs.
In this cross-sectional study, we collected information about MP and work-related factors of 1006 PTs using an online questionnaire. Associations between various work-related factors and MP were modelled using logistic regression controlled for various confounders.
Neck (57%) and low back pain (49%) were most common. Work-related factors associated with higher risk for having moderate-to-high MP (≥ 3 on a scale of 0-10) were "treating more patients at the same time" [OR 2.14 (95% CI 1.53-2.99)], "working ≥45 h per week" [OR 1.73 (95% CI 1.05-2.84)], and "work in a seated position" [OR 2.04 (95% CI 1.16-3.57)] for the low back. "More years of experience" showed a negative association for elbow pain [OR 0.41 (95% CI 0.21-0.78)] and low back pain [OR 0.48 (95% CI 0.29-0.79)] compared with their less experienced counterparts.
The lack of professional experience, working in private clinics, working in a seated position and high workload are associated with the higher risk for MP among PTs. These results add further insight about the relevance of such factors, which might be considered for developing effective interventions to prevent work-related MP and better working conditions among PTs.
由于工作任务的体力要求较高，物理治疗师（PT）患肌肉骨骼疼痛（MP）的风险较高。经验或专业领域与 MP 有关，但以前的研究很少且规模较小。本研究旨在调查与 PT 相关的工作相关因素与 MP 之间的关系。
在这项横断面研究中，我们使用在线问卷收集了 1006 名 PT 的 MP 和与工作相关的因素信息。使用逻辑回归控制各种混杂因素后，对各种与工作相关的因素与 MP 之间的关系进行建模。
颈部（57%）和下背部（49%）疼痛最常见。与中重度 MP（≥10 分制的 3 分及以上）风险较高相关的工作相关因素是“同时治疗更多患者”[比值比（OR）2.14（95%置信区间（CI）1.53-2.99）]、“每周工作≥45 小时”[OR 1.73（95% CI 1.05-2.84）]和“以坐姿工作”[OR 2.04（95% CI 1.16-3.57）]。与经验较少的同行相比，“更多年的经验”显示出与肘部疼痛[OR 0.41（95% CI 0.21-0.78）]和下背部疼痛[OR 0.48（95% CI 0.29-0.79）]呈负相关。
缺乏专业经验、在私人诊所工作、坐姿工作和工作量大与 PT 患 MP 的风险较高有关。这些结果进一步说明了这些因素的相关性，这可能有助于制定有效的干预措施，以预防与工作相关的 MP 和改善 PT 的工作条件。
