Prevalence of low back pain among employees undergoing the Occupational Rehabilitation program at Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (INSS), São Luís, MA

Abstract

The present study evaluates the prevalence of low back pain in a population of employees participating in the Occupational Rehabilitation Program at the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (INSS) in the city of Sao Luis, located in the state of Maranhao, Brazil. The basic functions of this program are the evaluation of labor potential and the definition of the real capacity to return to work of employees, and it serves approximately 400 people per month. Through the records in the medical registers, a retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out with 264 records, from 1995 to 2009, of employees off work and of employees still working. Those shown as unemployed were excluded from this study. From this sample, only employees with low back pain were selected, totaling 88 records, in which 83 male cases (94.3%) were found with an average age of 41 years, ranging from 24 to 53. The prevalence of low back pain was 33.3% compared to the medical registers found in the initial sample. Of those in the sample, it was noticed that most were married, with little schooling, male, at a productive age, and had been off work for more than a year. They had occupations that required static posture, repetitive motion, and strenuous physical activity.