Characteristics and associated factors of low back pain among nurses at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal problems, and causes significant misery and disability among nurses. In this study we looked into LBP in terms of characteristics, interference with daily activities, absenteeism from work, and choice to change careers among nurses from various specialties in a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: this was a cross-sectional study, conducted among nurses working at King Fahad Medical City (KFMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected via a questionnaire that was developed by the study authors and reviewed by two consultants. The questionnaire was in a Google form.

Results:

A total of 423 nurses participated in the current study, 83.9% were females. For work fatigue, 33.3% of the participants reported "very often", and 33.3% reported "often. The pattern of pain occurrence was irregular by 38.5%, and the pain nature was mainly spasm (33.1%), with moderate severity by 48.9%, and mild severity by 31% of the participants. The highest percentage (35.9%) reported using treatment for pain, 56% reported not taking sick leave, and 35.5% have plans to quit work.  The majority (92.7%) of the participants change their position frequently to make their lower back comfortable. There was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between males and females in the risk of LBP according to each of the following: housework, mode of transport, mattress hardness, professional title, maximum weight lifted, and work fatigue. The significant associated factors with LBP by professional title were the service length, total time per day spent sitting, total time per day spent carrying, maximum weight lifted, work fatigue, pattern of pain occurrence, and nature of pain.

Conclusion: we highlighted the characteristics of nurses with low back pain working at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Also, we assessed the associated factors with low pain among the studied participants.