French good practice guidelines for management of the risk of low back pain among workers exposed to manual material handling: Hierarchical strategy of risk assessment of work situations

BACKGROUND: Manual material handling remains a major cause of occupational accidents and diseases in various sectors and occupations. OBJECTIVE: This paper summarizes the main recommendations of the good practice guidelines of the French Society of Occupational Medicine for the risk assessment for back disorders in workers exposed to manual handling of loads. METHODS: The guidelines were written by a multidisciplinary working group of 24 experts, according to the Clinical Practice Guidelines method proposed by French National Health Authority, and reviewed by a multidisciplinary peer review committee of 50 experts. Recommendations were based on a large systematic review of the international literature carried out from 1990 to March 2012 and classified (Grade A, B, C or expert consensus) according to their level of evidence. RESULTS: The main recommendations are a three-level hierarchical method of risk assessment based on participatory ergonomics and suggested assessment tools that can be used routinely by professionals of occupational health, workers themselves and their supervisors. CONCLUSION: These French guidelines are intended for professionals of occupational health in charge of the prevention of low back disorders. The recommended methods are applicable to other countries than France

Analyse du travail à la chaleur : les indices de contraintes thermiques

International audienceThe present study reviews the different factors which modify heat exchanges between the human body and its environment. It points out that to assess heat stress of workers, it is necessary to take into account various environmental factors related to air and radiant temperatures, air velocity and humidity but also to physiological adjustments to heat. Different ways based on ISO Standards are suggested to integrate these factors in the determination of heat load and in the time to reach dangerous thresholds. The limitations of these different ways have been developed. A simplified program based on standard ISO 7933 has been proposed to improve a working situation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

The Belgian pilot project for early rehabilitation of nursing personnel suffering from low back pain.

peer reviewe

Implementation of a RTW program for low back pain workers in Belgium : Assessment of the workplace intervention component

peer reviewe

Physiological factors associated with the onset of sweating

The influence of esophageal (Tes) and skin temperature (Tsk) variations, body heat storage, and individual parameters on the initiation of sweating was investigated in 9 unacclimated subjects during thermal transients induced by exercise (25, 50, or 75 W) and by a step change in ambient temperature from 28 degrees C to 23, 28, 36.5, 45, or 50 degrees C. Seventy-four onsets of sweating were observed during the exposures, the sweating delay averaging 3 min at 45 and 50 degrees C, 6 min at 36.5 degrees C, and 9.5 min at 28 degrees C. In warm conditions (36.5 to 50 degrees C), the onset of sweating could mainly be related both to the level of Tsk and its rate component, whereas in cooler conditions (28 and 23 degrees C), the onset of sweating could only be related to a positive rate of Tes variation, the Tsk level being low and steady. On the whole set of data, the Tes changes at the onset were inversely related to the Tsk changes. The cumulated heat storage at the onset of sweating was 37 kJ/m2 (S.D. 25). It varied not only among subjects (range: 11-66 kJ/m2) but also within subjects even when differences in thermal state prior to exercise were accounted for. Among the individual parameters investigated, the magnitude of the decrease in Tes observed in response to the start of exercise was found to have a significant effect on the sweating delay. The Tes decrease was inversely related to the subject's skinfold thickness, and in a given subject, inversely related to the preexercise Tsk. It is concluded that the results are in agreement with a summation model of internal and mean skin temperatures on the sweating drive but that they do not verify the hypothesis of a critical level of heat storage at the onset of sweating