Study Finds Training Workers to Avoid Back Injuries Is Largely Ineffective

So-called back schools designed to teach workers lifting techniques, exercises and good posture in an effort to prevent on-the-job back injuries are largely ineffective, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston report today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Low back pain accounts for 30% to 40% of workers’ compensation costs and more than 30 million doctor visits annually in the United States and Canada.

The Boston team created a back school at two large mail processing centers. Therapists conducted two three-hour training sessions for small groups, and all participants got three or four refresher courses over the years. In all, 2,668 employees went to back school, and a similar number of untrained workers were followed for comparison. During 5 1/2 years of follow-up, 360 workers suffered low back injuries, but there was no significant difference in days lost and medical costs between those who got the training and those who did not.