Study looks to help farmers with back pain
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan are hoping some farmers will volunteer to be part of a study relating to back pain.
Farmers do labour intensive work each day, and sometimes live far away from treatment options – which makes the study even more important.
“One of the tricky things about back pain on the farm is that folks are a long way from hands-on care,” Catherine Trask, director of the U of S Ergonomics Laboratory, said in a release. “The time and gas it takes to get to the nearest physio can make appointments hard to get to. That is why it is important to find innovative treatments that work with real people’s lifestyles.”
The team is looking for farmers who are at least 18 years old and have had back pain for at least three months.
Participants will be given two individual appointments with a physiotherapist, where they’ll receive a lower back evaluation, information and education about back pain and exercise, and pain management advice.
Stephen Milosavljevic, a researcher involved in the study, said while working as a physiotherapist in New Zealand, he would encounter farmers looking for relief from back pain.
“I was seeing farmers regularly who were sitting all day and complaining of back pain and they are looking for more than temporary relief,” he said in a release.
Interested farmers are encouraged to contact Angelica Lang at 639-480-5595 or by email at back.research@usask.ca.