Should Back Belts be used?
Sould back belts be used? Are they a substitute for an ergonomics program?
In the Autumn of 1992, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) formed a Working Group to review the scientific literature related to back belts. The Group's objective was to evaluate the adequacy of the data supporting the use of back belts to reduce work-related back injuries in healthy, previously uninjured workers.
Back belts are also known as weight lifting devices, supports, or aids, and abdominal belts, which are primarily designed for use in the general population. The term "back belt" is also applied to therapeutic devices such as spinal braces, supports, corsets, and orthoses.
The term back injury is used throughout the text to refer to all back disorders, injuries, or pain. These disorders can be precipitated by a single traumatic event such as twisting, slipping, or lifting, or by the cumulative effect of repetitive trauma.
Overall Conclusions and Recommendations
On the basis of the review of pertinent literature, the Working Group has formulated the following conclusions and recommendations.
Conclusions
The Working Group concludes that the effectiveness of using back belts to lessen the risk of back injury among uninjured workers remains unproven.
The Working Group does not recommend the use of back belts to prevent injuries among uninjured workers, and does not consider back belts to be personal protective equipment.
The Working Group further emphasizes that back belts do not mitigate the hazards to workers posed by repeated lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, or bending.
The Working Group also concludes that:
There are insufficient data indicating that typical industrial back belts significantly reduce the biomechanical loading of the trunk during manual lifting.
There is insufficient scientific evidence to conclude that wearing back belts reduces risk of injury to the back based on changes in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and trunk muscle electromyography (EMG).
The use of back belts may produce temporary strain on the cardiovascular system.
There are insufficient data to demonstrate a relationship between the prevalence of back injury in healthy workers and the discontinuation of back belt use.
Recommendations
The Working Group recommends that the most effective means of minimizing the likelihood of back injury is to develop and implement a comprehensive ergonomics program. The program should include ergonomic assessments of jobs and workstations to ensure that work activity can be accomplished without exceeding the physical capabilities and capacities of the workers (Waters et al., 1993); on-going, comprehensive training for all workers on lifting mechanics and techniques; a surveillance program to identify potential work-related musculoskeletal problems; and a medical management program.
In the Autumn of 1992, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) formed a Working Group to review the scientific literature related to back belts. The Group's objective was to evaluate the adequacy of the data supporting the use of back belts to reduce work-related back injuries in healthy, previously uninjured workers.
Back belts are also known as weight lifting devices, supports, or aids, and abdominal belts, which are primarily designed for use in the general population. The term "back belt" is also applied to therapeutic devices such as spinal braces, supports, corsets, and orthoses.
The term back injury is used throughout the text to refer to all back disorders, injuries, or pain. These disorders can be precipitated by a single traumatic event such as twisting, slipping, or lifting, or by the cumulative effect of repetitive trauma.
Overall Conclusions and Recommendations
On the basis of the review of pertinent literature, the Working Group has formulated the following conclusions and recommendations.
Conclusions
The Working Group concludes that the effectiveness of using back belts to lessen the risk of back injury among uninjured workers remains unproven.
The Working Group does not recommend the use of back belts to prevent injuries among uninjured workers, and does not consider back belts to be personal protective equipment.
The Working Group further emphasizes that back belts do not mitigate the hazards to workers posed by repeated lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, or bending.
The Working Group also concludes that:
There are insufficient data indicating that typical industrial back belts significantly reduce the biomechanical loading of the trunk during manual lifting.
There is insufficient scientific evidence to conclude that wearing back belts reduces risk of injury to the back based on changes in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and trunk muscle electromyography (EMG).
The use of back belts may produce temporary strain on the cardiovascular system.
There are insufficient data to demonstrate a relationship between the prevalence of back injury in healthy workers and the discontinuation of back belt use.
Recommendations
The Working Group recommends that the most effective means of minimizing the likelihood of back injury is to develop and implement a comprehensive ergonomics program. The program should include ergonomic assessments of jobs and workstations to ensure that work activity can be accomplished without exceeding the physical capabilities and capacities of the workers (Waters et al., 1993); on-going, comprehensive training for all workers on lifting mechanics and techniques; a surveillance program to identify potential work-related musculoskeletal problems; and a medical management program.
posted by Ergonomic Partners @ 3:43 PM
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