Low back trouble is a real problem

Helen Williams

The new research was carried out by a team of three ergonomists, Professor Mark Porter and Dr Diane Gyi from the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University, and Helen Williams, from HJ Consultancy in Marlow.

They have submitted their findings to the Department of Health.

The findings are also being highlighted in a new leaflet launched by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy to mark Back Care Awareness day on Tuesday.

The research was carried out over 12 months and involved 11 companies from a range of UK industries.

Alert companies

Professor Porter said: "The main aim of our project was to alert companies to the hidden costs of driving - namely sickness absence due to low back trouble arising from a high exposure to driving a car on company business."

The research concentrated on business drivers who cover 25,000 miles or more each year, or those who spend more than four hours each day driving on business.

Helen Williams said: "Previous research had already shown that high mileage business drivers had a much higher incidence of back trouble than should be expected.

"However, this new research has provided even more evidence that low back trouble is a real problem - both for the individual sufferers and for the companies who are losing so many days to sickness."

Key recommendations include:

• pre-employment medicals and regular health checks for drivers, including risk assessments
• regular reviews of the cars made available to business drivers to help ensure that they meet the ergonomic needs of each individual driver