Among Brazil’s urban cleaning workers (drivers, trash collectors, maintenance workers, etc.), musculoskeletal pain — and low back pain in particular — is a major public health issue. Researchers interviewed 657 workers and found that 37% have experienced back pain lasting more than one week during the previous year, and of that group, 62.8% experienced back pain within the last seven days. Workers who described bending over and twisting as part of their job functions were much more likely to experience pain in one or more anatomical regions, as were workers who frequently worked overtime. Of note, workers who performed more dynamic and fewer repetitive movements on the job were less likely to experience back pain.
Brazilian Journal of Epidemiology, March 2014