International archives of occupational and environmental health
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health · May 2015
Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers.
To investigate the relationships between low back symptoms and alternative measures of external dose and internal spinal dose in professional drivers exposed to whole body vibration (WBV). ⋯ In this prospective cohort study, measures of internal spinal dose performed better than measures of daily vibration exposure (external dose) for the prediction of low back outcomes in professional drivers. The ISO boundary values of the risk factor R for low and high probabilities of adverse health effects on the lumbar spine tend to underestimate the health risk in professional drivers.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health · Apr 2015
Does the association between musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence due to musculoskeletal diagnoses depend on biomechanical working conditions?
To investigate single-site and multi-site musculoskeletal pain as predictors of future sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among blue-collar employees in food industry, and to study to what extent this relationship depends on physical loading at work. ⋯ A very high level of sickness absence in biomechanically strenuous work was found. Multi-site pain predicted sickness absence due to MSD among the employees with low exposure, but not among those with high exposure.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health · Feb 2015
Comparative StudyWorkload during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Lay resuscitation is crucial for the survival of the patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Therefore, lay CPR should be a basic skill for everyone. With the growing proportion of retired people in the Western societies, CPR performed by people with preexisting diseases and at risk of cardiac events is expected to grow. There is little knowledge about the workload during CPR and the minimum workload capacity of the rescuer. ⋯ CPR can be performed by healthy people within the range of aerobic endurance. The minimal requirements for trainings are 1.6-1.8 W/kg body weight in standard cycling ergometry. People at risk should be trained very careful. Since there is no significant lower workload when following the 1995 recommendations, people at risk should be trained according to the latest recommendations. In the case of a real resuscitation, such trained individuals must additionally take into account any symptoms.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health · Jul 2014
Work-related psychosocial and mechanical risk factors for neck/shoulder pain: a 3-year follow-up study of the general working population in Norway.
This study examines the impact of work-related psychosocial and mechanical exposure on the development of neck/shoulder pain in the general working population. ⋯ Highly demanding jobs, neck flexion and awkward lifting appear as the most important predictors of neck/shoulder pain.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health · May 2014
Differences in physical workload between military helicopter pilots and cabin crew.
The 1-year prevalence of regular or continuous neck pain in military helicopter pilots of the Dutch Defense Helicopter Command (DHC) is 20%, and physical work exposures have been suggested as risk factors. Pilots and cabin crew perform different tasks when flying helicopters. The aims of the current study were to compare the exposures to physical work factors between these occupations and to estimate the 1-year prevalence of neck pain in military helicopter cabin crew members. ⋯ Flight-related neck pain is prevalent in both military helicopter pilots and cabin crew members. The exposures to neck pain-related physical work factors differ between occupations, with the cabin crew members subjected to more factors. These results have implications for preventative strategies for flight-related neck pain.