Book Description
This is a Ph.D. thesis. In the working population, back disorders are the most frequently occurring disorder in the musculoskeletal system and an important reason for sick leave and permanent work inability. Back disorders have been estimated to be the most costly ailment of working adults.
Despite numerous scientific investigations, their aetiology and risk factors are not well understood. The Belgian Low Back Cohort (BelCoBack) Project was designed for low back disorders in occupational settings.
To minimize dropout, only workers with a tenured position or equivalent were included. Furthermore, to reduce the influence of age and of prior back pain episodes, participants had to be no older than 30 years at the time of intake and to have been free of episodes of low back pain of seven or more consecutive days during the twelve months before intake in the study.
