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. 2011 Sep;53(9):1061-7.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e31822cfe5e.

Efficacy of the revised NIOSH lifting equation to predict risk of low back pain due to manual lifting: expanded cross-sectional analysis

Thomas R Waters  1 , Ming-Lun Lu, Laurie A Piacitelli, Dwight Werren, James A Deddens
Affiliations

Efficacy of the revised NIOSH lifting equation to predict risk of low back pain due to manual lifting: expanded cross-sectional analysis

Thomas R Waters et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) is a valid tool for assessing risk of low back pain (LBP) due to manual lifting by using combined data from two cross-sectional studies of 1-year prevalence.

Methods: Results from a symptom and occupational history questionnaire and RNLE analysis for 677 subjects employed in 125 manual lifting jobs at nine industrial sites were combined from two studies.

Results: The odds of LBP increased as the lifting index (LI) increased from 1.0 to 3.0. A statistically significant odds ratio (OR) was found for both the 1 < LI ≤ 2 (OR = 1.81) and the 2 < LI ≤ 3 categories (OR = 2.26). For jobs with an LI value greater than 3.0, however, the OR remained nonsignificant. The 2 < LI ≤ 3 group remained statistically significant after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, and psychosocial factors.

Conclusions: It is clear that as the LI increases, the risk of LBP increases. Longitudinal studies are needed.

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