The effects of a new seat suspension system on whole body vibration exposure and driver low back pain and disability: results from a randomized controlled trial in truck drivers

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Appl Ergon
• Personal Author:
  Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Cavallari, Jennifer M. ; Kim, Jeong Ho (Jay) ; Green, Nicholas H.
• Description:
  Through a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the effects of an electro-magnetic active seat suspension that reduces exposure of a long-haul truck driver to whole body vibration (WBV) on low back pain (LBP) and disability. Among 276 drivers recruited from six trucking terminals of a major US trucking company, 135 eligible drivers were assigned to either having an Active Seat (Intervention: n = 70) - the BoseRide® electro-magnetic active seat - or Passive Seat (reference: n = 65) - a new version of their current seat (passive air suspension seat) - installed in their truck via block (terminal) randomization. Low back pain (LBP) severity, on a 0-10 scale and the Oswestry LBP Disability Index were collected before and 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-months post seat installation. LBP severity and LBP disability scores were significantly lower post seat installation in both groups. At 3 months, LBP severity decreased -1.4 [95% CI: -2.1 to -0.7: n = 46] for drivers in the Active Seat arm, and -1.5 [95% CI: -2.3 to -0.8: n = 41] for drivers in the Passive Seat arm. In a subset of drivers, WBV exposures were collected before and after the seat installation. WBV exposures significantly decreased post seat installation for Active Seat (p < 0.01) but not for Passive Seat (p = 0.15). While the new seat-suspension technology reduced WBV exposures, LBP appeared to be improved by multiple factors. These results were limited by the secondary prevention approach and the longer-term loss to follow up due to large rates of driver turnover typical for the industry.
• Subjects:
  Automobile Driving Equipment Design Humans Low Back Pain Motor Vehicles Occupational Diseases Occupational Exposure Vibration
• Source:
  Appl Ergon. 98:103588
• Pubmed ID:
  34562781
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10861360
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01 OH010097/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  98
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065546
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ef921b2b58cf8414c38a2d713c21b1d9941281ca680b4e730ec419e20aa7285e3f13e589bf26d15733523f197148ce8180cba1e6502691634fb22964c411ee20
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/149022/cdc_149022_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 605.81 KB ]