Associations between prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms of the spine and biopsychosocial factors among office workers.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationships between the self-reported prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck, upper back and low back and certain individual, work-related physical and psychosocial factors. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey using a descriptive questionnaire, which was distributed to 2000 office workers in 54 workplaces, in Bangkok, registered at the Social Security Office of Thailand. RESULTS Returns were 1,428 (71%) questionnaires, and after screening for exclusion criteria, 1,185 office workers were found to be eligible for the study. For the head/neck region, frequently working in an uncomfortable posture increased the risk of experiencing head/neck symptoms (adjusted OR=1.81, 95% CI=1.35-2.44). For the upper back region, frequent trunk bending during work increased the risk of experiencing upper back symptoms (adjusted OR=1.80, 95% CI=1.32-2.44) whereas working in a job that required little interaction with others decreased the risk of experiencing upper back symptoms (adjusted OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.25-0.68). For the low back region, working for >8 h a day showed an elevated risk for low back symptoms (adjusted OR=1.66, 95% CI=1.25-2.22). CONCLUSIONS Some biopsychosocial factors were associated with the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the spine among office workers. Further research should focus on these factors in order to develop specific strategies to reduce the occurrence of such symptoms in the office environment.