Low back pain and functional changes in marketers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Lumbar pain reaches epidemic levels in the general population, being one of the causes of functional disability and the most common reason for medical consultation. Its etiology is multifactorial and the most common factors for this symptomatology involve the biomechanical and occupational elements and the individual characteristics. OBJECTIVE: to investigate the occurrence of low back pain and the functional repercussions among marketers in the horticultural sector (retail). METHODS: A quantitative, descriptive study was conducted, with a cross-sectional study design. To this end, the Oswestry Disability Form (modified) and the Visual Analogue Scale were applied to measure pain. The data were descriptively evaluated by means of absolute and relative frequency.  RESULTS: We interviewed 100 market participants, with a mean age of 43 years. Of these, 73% had some pain or discomfort in the lumbar region and to minimize such occurrence, 39.7% used oral/topic medication without medical guidance. Regarding functional alterations, 14% presented intense disability. CONCLUSION: The study identified that individuals with low back pain had some degree of disability that reflected in their context of life.