OBJECTIVES

Pain attributable to mechanical stresses resulting from excessive standing/walking in the workplace is an underexplored area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of work-related lower limb and back pain in a sample of workers in Scotland (UK).

METHODS

This internet-mediated research included participants with self-reported work-related lower body pain who completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) scale, and a generic quality of life instrument, AQoL-4D. Information regarding sociodemographics, work patterns, and healthcare resource utilisation was also collected. National (UK) median age- and gender-specific weekly wages were used to derive the economic cost of work-related pain.

RESULTS

A total of 510 participants completed the survey with equal numbers of males and females. The mean age was 36.6 years (range: 18-67 years). Mean BMI was 28.3 kg/m2 (standard deviation, SD: 6.07). Participants reported spending all (24%) or most (55%) of their time at work on their feet. Mean BPI severity score was 4.23 (95%, confidence interval, CI: 4.05 to 4.40); mean BPI interference score was 3.79 (95%CI: 3.59 to 4.00). Mean overall AQoL-4D scores were 0.631 (95%CI: 0.609 to 0.653). Participants reported attending their family practitioner 1.76 and hospital 0.98 times over the last year in relation to their work-related pain. The total estimated costs of these visits were £33,227 and £67,130 respectively. Mean levels of absenteeism over the last 7 days were 9.1% (95%CI: 7.4% to 10.9%), and presenteeism 31.9% (95%CI: 41.0% to 63.2%). Estimated mean wage lost was £52.09 per participant (95%CI: £41.00 to £63.19) with £26,464 lost in total.

CONCLUSIONS

Pain attributable to excessive standing/walking in the workplace has a high prevalence. These results indicate that this type of pain has a significant impact in terms of quality of life and economic burden both to the individual as well as society.