qvidagov.net

Problems in sleep quality and lack of rest are one of the main problems associated with the occurrence of pain osteomuleculares, ie affecting bones and muscles, truckers, especially those with irregular or night shift. This is pointing to research done by physiotherapist Lucia Castro Lemos in his dissertation defended at the Faculty of Public Health (FSP), USP.

Restlessness increases aa occurrence of pain in truck
The survey was conducted in 2007 with 470 truck drivers linked to a carrier located in São Paulo, the country with branches Respondents answered a questionnaire that addressed the complaints of musculoskeletal pain, sleep quality and irregular shift work, which included the evening hours beyond the scheduled times day. The answers about the pains pointed to two time intervals, 12 months and weeks preceding the survey.

The main complaints were to the torso, especially in the lower back, lumbar spine. About 27.9% of respondents complained of pains in the region over the past 12 months. The upper back, the spine, was also widely cited, with 26.2% of occurrences. Other areas mentioned were pretty shoulders, knees and neck, regardless of the period studied.

In the 12 months preceding the study approximately 53.5% reported being affected by pain in some part of the body. Among the truck drivers analyzed, 6.1% were prevented from carrying out professional activities because of pain and 10.5% sought help from a health professional.

Lucia explains that the most frequent pain in the trunk region are due to day long at work and maintain the same posture, in addition to the physical effort and psychic work at night. “The sitting position changes the physiological curvature of the spine, called the lumbar lordosis. This curvature change causes a greater pressure inside the core of the intervertebral discs, which triggers pain in the muscles around the spine, “explains the researcher.

Professional Profile

The truck had studied on average 40 years old and in great majority were married (80%). In response, a large majority say not to smoke and drink only on special occasions. She explains that the result surprising, since smoking and drinking habits are more common among shift workers, as found in other studies. One hypothesis, at least in the case of beverages, is that these responses occurred for fear of trouble with the law and the audit conducted by the company.

Another interesting detail is linked to the consumption of medication to stay awake during work, in which only 1% of truckers took the consumption of stimulant medications, which could interfere with sleep quality. According to previous research, on average about 25% reported the use of the “rivet”.

Regarding working hours, over 28% of respondents said they work more than 10 hours per day. The workday at the company analyzed varies according to the profile of transport made, which was divided into three categories: transfer, distribution and collection. It is the “transfer” that fit the night journeys and irregular, it is also falling into the great work hours and longer routes.

Importance of the nap

Among the problems pointed out by the truck as responsible for pain, such as stress, work pressure, fear of violence and accidents, the lack of quality sleep was identified as a major villain.

The 31% who said they had bad nights sleep had more complaints of pain than those who say otherwise. As for the habit of napping, 80% of drivers did not nap often, contrary to expectations, and had the biggest complaints for musculoskeletal pain.

She explains that the habit of napping, or at least relax, helps prevent this problem, because rest breaks and recover the muscle structures subjected to overloads The researcher adds that the difficulty for a nap during the workday is hampered by pressure companies with respect to time limits.

The therapist adds that regardless of the amount of hours worked the nap helps in reducing pain. “The nap can be taken anywhere. Even if it’s in the truck, put in a network, the ideal is that the company allows small naps during work hours when possible. This helps improve not only sleep-related issues and accident prevention, but also to reduce the occurrence of pain in this population, “added the researcher.

Posted by Rodrigo Martinez at December 1, 2009 – 19:27 – Category: Health
More information: (11) 3061-7905, email lucalemos@usp.br . Article printed from USP News Agency: http://www.usp.br/agen

Vania Maria Fonseca Lima Gomes