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as well, included are salesladies in deparment stores. Due to the nature of work of the salesladies, it is not impossible that low back pain can develop. There are studies regarding the development of work related musculoskeletal symptoms among salesladies in a department store in Thailand (Pensri et. al, 2009) However, these studies are focused on the symptoms experienced by the salesladies. Salesladies tend to disregard the discomfort they felt due to the little knowledge they have about the possible complications these discomforts can lead to. The Management of the department store will also benefit by preventing the possible complications through continuous awareness program on how low back pain develop and steps in order to avoid having such disorder. Any person having any activity that involves straining of muscles will be aware that an improper position and movement in the line of work can lead to low back pain and injury if left disregarded. Consequently, this study will determine the significance of having awareness and knowledge about the different symptoms that can lead to the development of low back pain associated with prolonged standing.
Conceptual Framework The conceptual paradigm in figure 1 shows the relationship of the independent variable, which is Prolonged Standing to that of the dependent variable which is the Low Back Pain . Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Prolonged Standing
Figure 1. The Conceptual Paradigm Showing the Relationship Between the Variabes of the Study Theoretical Framework This study is anchored upon the proposed by Feuerstein in 1996 and refined by Feuerstein and colleagues in 1999. The core of the work style model is based upon the hypothesis that how an individual performs his/her work tasks in reaction to increased work demands may lead to the etiology, exacerbation, and/or maintenance of lethal disorders (Feuerstein, 1996). Individuals experience different levels of psychological and physiological arousal while at work. This arousal may interact with the physical task, workplace environment, psychosocial stressors, and the individuals characteristics (i.e., perceptual style, training, coping methods, etc.) to influence the cognitions and/or biomechanical behaviors the individual generates and the occurrence of behaviors that contribute to recovery, such as rest and stretching breaks while at work. The cognitive and
behavioral components of an individuals work style may become particularly detrimental to musculoskeletal health when the individual is under high work demands and/or psychological distress. In such a case, the person may respond to increased job demands by generating negative cognitions including fears of making mistakes, perfectionistic thoughts, etc., which may be associated with and/or drive risky behaviors such as repeated, forceful, and rapid motions for a sustained period of time. These responses are hypothesized to be a mechanism for interaction of the physical, psychosocial, and individual risk factors for the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (Gerr et al., 2002). Therefore, workstyle can be defined as the cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses an individual makes in response to work demands. In relation to the groups study where prolonged standing among salesladies predisposes them to low back pain just with varied severities may somehow appear or confused as focusing on just one aspect, when actually it encompasses all three. To justify, individuals who are placed under demands at work may generate responses that are psychological (i.e., stress appraisal and angry or depressive cognitions), physiological (i.e., autonomic responses such as cold hands or shallow breathing), and behavioral (i.e., forceful repetitive motion without rest). These collective responses are conceptualized as the individuals workstyle and this is somehow a perfect reinforcing strategy for the subjects to complete or cope with the job demands that would later on predispose them to low back pain.
Scope and Delimitations This study focused on determining the prevalence and the relationship of the duration of employment of the employees with the severity of low back pain associated with prolonged standing among salesladies in a local department store. In determining the group of respondents, a certain criteria was made which included that the respondents should only be composed of female having no history of low back pain prior to employment who are exposed to prolonged standing for at least 2 (two) continuous hours and at most for the whole duration of work. The study should be limited to Davao city area only. A special type of questionnaire, which was adapted from the Nordic questionnaire, was used to gather data from the respondents which includes demographics, the duration of standing, BMI, age, and the musculoskeletal symptoms on the lumbosacral area of the back, and a severity scale. The study was conducted from the beginning of January 2013 to the last week of February 2013.