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. 2022 Aug 23;19(17):10492.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191710492.

Predictors of Low Back Pain Risk among Rubber Harvesters

Parnchon Chokprasit  1 , Supabhorn Yimthiang  1   2 , Siriluk Veerasakul  1   2   3
Affiliations

Predictors of Low Back Pain Risk among Rubber Harvesters

Parnchon Chokprasit et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is a significant work-related musculoskeletal disorder among rubber farmers. This major occupational health problem was highly reported in the agricultural sector. While rubber farming is a profession with high risk of LBP, predictors for LBP remain unclear. This study was designed to investigate the risk predictors of LBP among rubber farmers during the harvesting process. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2021, in which an interviewer administered a pretested structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed. A total of 317 rubber farmers were recruited with a 100% response rate. The prevalence of LBP was 71.2% with 95% confidence interval (CI) of (0.716-1.900). Significant risk predictors were working experience (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.743, 95% CI (1.034-2.937)), agricultural registration (AOR: 2.022, 95% CI (1.078-3.792)), work without training (AOR: 2.037, 95% CI (1.083-3.832)), heavy workload (AOR: 2.120, 95% CI (1.242-3.621)), and prolonged standing (AOR: 2.944, 95% CI (1.586-5.465)). Intriguingly, those with sufficient income had a reduced risk of LBP than those with insufficient income. This study confirmed that LBP is a major work-related musculoskeletal disorder among rubber farmers. The result here suggests that the five predictors reported above should be prioritized for further disease prevention.

Keywords: Thailand; harvesting; low back pain; risk factor; rubber farmer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustrations of work postures during the harvesting process. (a) Body twisting along the angle of the trunk. (b) Bending down for rubber tapping in the low panel. (c) Reaching the trunk for the rubber tapping in the high panel. (d) Bowing down to harvest natural latex. (e) Lifting and moving heavy loads along the tree line. (f) Exerting force to support the latex bucket to pour it into a larger reservoir.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Walailak University Graduate Research Fund, contract no CGS-RF-2021/03.