Nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States Part II - back injuries

This is the second of the three-part paper on nonfatal occupational injurie s in the United States. This part focuses on injuries to the back. Data fro m the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are used to examine injury statistic s to different regions of the back including the spine and spinal column, t he lumbar region, and injuries to multiple back regions. Injuries to these different regions of the back are categorized by common measures of magnitu de such as the number and the incidence rates; by major US industrial class ifications; by different types of events or exposures such as contact with objects, slip and fall accidents, overexertion injuries, etc.; by different natures of injuries such as sprains and strains, fractures, bruises, etc.; by different sources of injuries such as parts or materials, worker motion , healthcare patient, etc.; by different US occupations such as service, te chnical, sales and administrative support, etc.; by age of the injured; by ethnic origin of the injured; by gender of the injured; by length of servic e of the injured with the employer; and by the number of lost workdays. Relevance to industry This paper provides focused and specific information on injuries in the Uni ted States. Knowledge of back injury trends is essential for instituting ef forts to control them. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.