PREVALENCE OF LOW BACK PAIN AMONG BANKERS OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

OBJECTIVE: To find out the prevalence of low back pain among bankers of Lahore, Pakistan. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from April-September 2017 on 164 bankers with age group of 22-58 years working in different government and private banks of Lahore, Pakistan. Participants with any accident, fracture and tumor were excluded. Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire was used. The bankers were interviewed and asked to fill in the questionnaires. Statistical Analysis was done by using SPSSversion 21. RESULTS: Total 164 subjects were included in the study with 113(68.90%) males and 51(31.10%) females. Mean age of respondents was 30.46±6.57 years. The prevalence of low back pain in bankers was 52.4% (n=86/164),more prevalent in males (n=46; 53.5%) as compared to females (n=40; 46.5%). Study revealed that 84 (97.7%) respondents changed their posture, 61 (70.9%) lied down more often than usual, 55 (64.0%) refrained from bending, 51 (59.3%) faced difficulty in putting on socks, 49 (57.0%) faced difficulty in standing from chair, 46 (53.5%) went up the stairs slowly, 45 (52.3%) could not sleep, 45 (52.3%) asked help from others and 45 (52.3%) walked only short distances. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of low back pain is high among bankers, more among the men than women. It was found that due to low back pain, bankers were not able to do daily life activities.