Prevalence of Low Back Pain and Its Associated Factors Among the Shopkeepers in a Rural Market of Bangladesh

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the best public health threats people face worldwide.People who have LBP suffer for a certain period, and after recovery, they ultimately go back to regular activities.Objective: To determine the proportion, associated factors, and low back pain (LBP) pattern among the shopkeepers. Methodology:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 426 adult shopkeepers in the Homna Bazar of Cumilla district from July 2022 to June 2023.Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.Ethical clearance was taken from the Ethical Review Committee of Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS). Results:The mean age of the respondents was 38.210.1 years.All the respondents were male.The prevalence of low back pain was 34.7%.In the type of low back pain among the respondents, 87.8% had chronic low back pain.The mean age, job duration, height (p=0.001) and weight (p=0.025),age group, type of work, working posture, extra physical force during work (p=0.001),excessive movement during work (p=0.003),sitting on a chair during work and without soft mattress only wooden chair (p=0.001) and others chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellites, degenerative bone disease (p=0.001) were significantly associated with low back pain. Conclusion:One out of three shopkeepers at Homna Bazar, Cumilla, suffer from low back pain.The most common associated factors were poor posture, increased working hours, types of job, work-related excessive movement, excessive force, heavy weight lifting, prolonged sitting, and prolonged standing.