Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) affects majority of the population but common among workers. It affects diagnostic radiographers mainly due to occupational physical activities and age. This study sought to determine the prevalence, risk factors and coping mechanisms among practicing radiographers in Enugu and Ebonyi States, Nigeria. Cross sectional survey was adopted using a structured questionnaire and the data analyzed using Chi square. A total of 50.9% of the respondents were experiencing LBP and 90.9% have had LBP in the last one year. Only 3.6% of the respondents had been hospitalized due to LBP. Majority (90%) of the respondents had reduced activity while 27.3% had changed duty due to LBP. A small number of the respondents (18.2%) reported that LBP was responsible for decrease in their extracurricular activities but only 7.3% of them had seen a doctor or a physiotherapist in the last one year. The respondents considered 'standing and walking throughout the procedure', manipulation of equipment during procedure', 'pushing and pulling of equipment', 'repositioning patient/cassette during procedure' and 'bending while carrying out the procedure' as the major risk factors. Coping strategies adopted were; sitting and resting after few hours of work, standing after few hours of sitting down, use of over-the-counter analgesics and mild to moderate physical exercise to alleviate the LBP.

Key words: Low back pain, radiographers, risk factors, coping strategies, Nigeria.