Combination of low back pain and previous low back pain and shoulder stiffness in construction employees.

A postal questionnaire for the prevalence of low back pain was studied with relevance to stiffness of that shoulder and a history of low back disorders in construction employees. The percentage of clerical employees with low back pain was 31.3% and of field workers was 30.3%. Odds ratios representing a relative risk factor for low back pain relating to each age group showed 2.35 in the clerical and 2.10 in the field workers at the age of 30-34 years, and 3.34 and 2.58 at the age of 35-39 years, respectively. In the persons with positive previous low back pain, the prevalence rate of low back pain was 52.6% in the clerical, and 50.2% in the field workers. Odds ratios for low back pain relating to previous low back pain significantly exceeded unity for the clerical employees (OR = 9.53) and the field workers (OR = 10.28), compared to those without a history of previous low back pain. The incidence of stiffness of the shoulder was 48.2% in the clerical and 45.2% in the field workers, and the prevalence rate of low back pain among those with stiffness of the shoulder was 68.5% in the clerical and 65.8% in the field workers. Odds ratio were 3.03 in both groups. Among each age group, the prevalence rate of stiffness of the shoulder with low back pain increased gradually to a maximum in the 45-49 age group of 19%, and then dropped. In those with a history of low back pain and/or stiffness of the shoulder, the prevalence of low back pain showed significantly greater value than other risk factors.