Low back pain at work: causes, prevention and what helps
How common is low back pain?
According to the WHO, low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. The Global Burden of Disease study estimated that 619 million people had low back pain in 2020, a number expected to reach 843 million by 2050 as populations grow and age. Most cases are seen at age 50 to 55, and it is more common in women.
In Denmark, 14.0% of adults were very bothered by back or lower back pain in the last two weeks, and 13.4% report a slipped disc or another back condition (Statens Institut for Folkesundhed, 2017 data). Among employed people with a back condition, 12.2% had long-term sick leave, against 5.1% of those without.
Which work factors cause back pain?
The Global Burden of Disease study attributes 38.8% of the disability from low back pain to occupational factors, smoking and high body weight. At work, the main risks are:
- Heavy physical work, which Arbejdstilsynet notes increases the risk of pain
- Lifting, especially many lifts, heavy loads, and patient transfers in care work
- Bending and twisting, particularly in combination with a load
- Long static positions, sitting or standing for hours without variation
- Whole-body vibration, for example from driving
Low physical activity, smoking and obesity add to the risk outside work.
What helps employees with back pain?
The evidence points the same way across WHO and the UK’s NICE guideline:
- Stay active and keep normal activities going. Rest slows recovery.
- Exercise. NICE recommends considering a group exercise programme.
- Return to work early, with adjusted tasks if needed. NICE recommends promoting and facilitating return to work.
- Manual therapy only alongside exercise, not on its own.
- Painkillers should not be the first-line treatment (WHO).
What does not help: back belts and corsets. A Cochrane review of seven trials with more than 14,000 people found moderate evidence that lumbar supports do not prevent low back pain better than no intervention or training. NICE advises against offering them.
How can employers prevent back pain?
- Reduce heavy and awkward lifts. Use lifting aids, raise loads off the floor and keep heavy items between hip and chest height. See the official lifting limits in our guide to ergonomic risk assessment.
- Break up static work. Vary tasks and positions through the day.
- Make it easy to keep working with pain. Agree on temporary task changes early instead of waiting for sick leave.
- Find the tasks that load the back. Ask employees, observe, and measure where you can.
Precure’s MLI® Back sensor measures load on the lower back during ordinary work, and our Individual program helps employees with back pain change the habits behind it, guided by a physiotherapist.
This guide is general information. Anyone with severe, worsening or unexplained back pain, or pain with numbness, weakness or bladder problems, should see a doctor promptly.
Sources
- Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990–2020, and projections to 2050, GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators, The Lancet Rheumatology, 2023
- Low back pain (fact sheet), World Health Organization, 2023
- Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management (NG59), NICE, 2026
- Lumbar supports for prevention and treatment of low back pain, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2008
- Muskel- og skeletlidelser i Danmark: nøgletal 2022, Statens Institut for Folkesundhed, SDU, 2022
- Pas på kroppen i fysisk arbejde, Arbejdstilsynet, 2026
Written by a physiotherapist. General information, not a diagnosis: see a doctor or physiotherapist about your own pain.