Investigation of the Effect of Spine Health Training and Lumbar Region Support on Back Pain and Discomfort in City Bus Drivers: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Low Back Pain (LBP); Low Back Disorder

• Registration Number: NCT06841107
• Lead Sponsor: Pamukkale University

Brief Summary

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies driving as a function of daily activities and social participation. Professional bus drivers have an important place in society for transportation. Drivers are seen as a stressful occupational group due to their use of the vehicle in the same position and intensive working hours.

It is important for bus drivers not to feel discomfort during long working hours and to choose the right seat position. Because the design of the driver's seat directly affects the driver's spine biomechanics. For an ergonomic posture, the head, back and waist areas of the driver's seats should be well supported. During driving, the waist and back of the seat should be supported in order to fix the driver's lumbar region due to movements in the vehicle seat.

Professional drivers' long working hours, sitting positions and exposure to vibration, work stress, short breaks, and insufficient physical activity bring about occupational diseases. Musculoskeletal disorders are seen primarily, as well as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Most musculoskeletal problems are caused by incorrect sitting positions. In many studies, it is seen that drivers have neck, upper back and waist pain, and spinal problems. The main reason for musculoskeletal disorders is that the seats are not adjustable and most drivers try to maintain their posture with additional supports. When the studies conducted look at the relationship between the driver and the seat during long-term vehicle use, the pressure in the contact areas, insufficient support in the back and waist area causes a decrease in comfort, thus causing back and waist discomfort and pain in the individual.

Psychosocial factors are also risk factors affecting musculoskeletal disorders. It has been observed that stress causes various diseases including heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders in city bus drivers. Psychosocial factors such as job satisfaction, burnout, and stress have been found to be associated with the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.

Eliminating the back pain and discomfort of professional drivers, who occupy a large place in society, will provide great benefits both for the health of individuals and to alleviate the burden on the service sector. In studies in the international literature on this subject, only posture analyses of drivers have been conducted or the effects on pain and discomfort in the short term after the intervention have been examined. In the literature, drivers stated that seats with lumbo-sacral support were more comfortable than standard seats. In this study, the effect on pain and discomfort will be examined by following the drivers for 3 months. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the use of lumbar region support in bus drivers by following them for 3 months in terms of back pain and discomfort caused by long working hours and incorrect posture.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-10-03
• Primary Completion: 2023-12-28
• Study Completion: 2024-06-25
• Status Verified: 2025-01
• Study First Submitted: 2025-01-25
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-02-19
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-02-19
• Study First Posted: 2025-02-24
• Last Update Posted: 2025-02-24

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 104

Inclusion Criteria

• Those with back pain and discomfort
• Those who have been a bus driver for at least 1 year

Exclusion Criteria

• Having been a bus driver for less than 1 year
• Having any orthopedic, neurological, rheumatological or metabolic disease diagnosed due to back pain
• Having had spinal surgery
• Using medication for a diagnosed back problem
• Having received physiotherapy/physical therapy for a diagnosed back pain problem

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)	3 months	Posture assessment was performed before the intervention and after three months of lumbar support use.; The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) assesses the risk of musculoskeletal disorders by analyzing body posture during work. It rates the level of risk on a scale of 1 to 15, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders due to poor posture. This assessment was used to demonstrate the impact of posture on low back pain and discomfort.
Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire	3 months	A musculoskeletal questionnaire was conducted before the intervention and 3 months after the spine health training. The Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to assess musculoskeletal disorders. This questionnaire collects information about current, past month and past 12 months musculoskeletal problems in nine different parts of the body (neck, shoulder, elbow, hand/wrist, back, waist, hip/thigh, knee, foot/ankle). It also collects information on how often these pains/discomforts occur, whether they decrease on vacation days and the severity of the pain. This questionnaire was used to evaluate the effectiveness of spine health training.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Pamukkale University; 🇹🇷 Denizli, Turkey