Preventive Health Care, 2002 Update: Use of Back Belts to Prevent Occupational Low-Back Pain
Prepared by C. Ammendolia, DC, MSc, M.S. Kerr, PhD, C. Bombardier, MD, MSc, with the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
These recommendations were finalized by the Task Force in October 2002.
| MANEUVER | EFFECTIVENESS | LEVEL OF EVIDENCE <REF> | RECOMMENDATION |
| Use of back belts in the workplace to prevent the incidence of occupational low back pain, or time lost from work due to LBP. | There is conflicting evidence that back belt use reduces incidence of or lost work time due to low back pain. |
Walsh (I, fair): negative** for incidence, positive** for lost time van Poppel (I, fair): negative for both incidence and lost
time Alexander (I, fair): negative for incidence Kraus (I, fair): positive for incidence |
The CTF
concludes that the existing evidence is conflicting and does not allow
making a recommendation for or against the use of back belts to prevent
occupational low back pain or to reduce lost work time due to LBP. |