Cross sectional study of low back pain among merchant seafarers at a medical centre in Singapore

Background: Low back pain [LBP] either acute or chronic is the most common musculoskeletal complaint seen in a clinic. Majority of them are involved with manual handling of heavy objects. Objectives: To explore prevalence characteristics of low back pain syndrome among seafarers from merchant ships at a medical centre [dedicated solely for seafarer health].Methodology: A cross-sectional study of 163 merchand seafarers, all male, from 24 to 65 year old, that came to the clinic due to some health problem, were invited to participate in the study. A standardized questionnaire was used to obtain the information.Results: Non officer seafarers, of the younger age group, who are overweight and smokes constitute the major part of these low back pain patients. The majority of them experience lumbalgia during long working hours on the deck and on engine room, after lifting heavyobjects.Conclusion: The non officers constitute the largest part of the low back patients which can be explained simply because they constitute the largest part of the seafarers. But they also have more lifting and manual work than the officers. The hypothesis is raised that therelative risk of LBP is highest among the non officer seafarers. Further epidemiological research is required to determine if the relative risk is really higher among this group of seafarersKeywords: Low Back Pain, Naval Medicine, Obesity, Smoking