FRIDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Lumbar support may provide a cost-effective addition to the usual care offered to home care workers who have recurrent low back pain (LBP), according to a study published in the Dec. 15 issue of Spine.
Pepijn D.D.M. Roelofs, Ph.D., of the University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues determined the impact of adding lumbar support to home care workers with a self-reported history of LBP. Three hundred sixty workers were randomly assigned to receive usual care alone or with lumbar support for working days with LBP.
The researchers found that those using lumbar support in addition to usual care reported an average of 54 fewer days per year with LBP, compared to the group receiving usual care only. No significant differences in sick leave or quality of life were noted. Direct costs were $266 lower in the lumbar support group.
"Besides reducing the number of calendar days suffering from LBP with 54 days per year, the secondary preventive use of lumbar supports in addition to usual care also appears to be less costly for home care workers with recurrent LBP," the authors write.
Abstract
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