A back injury prevention program was developed,
implemented and evaluated for employees at Corning
Corporation. Subjects included 38 manufacturing
employees; 21 in the intervention group and 17 in the
control group. The subjects included slightly more males
(62%) than females (37%), significantly more whites (87%)
than African Americans or other minorities (13%), and
an average age of 30-39 years. The intervention involved
frequent stretching exercises done throughout the 12 hour
workday. A two-way ANOVA was used to access self-reported
back discomfort reported by a questionnaire during pre- and
post- intervention periods. Although no significant
interactions between groups across time occurred, there
was a decline in discomfort for both groups. A correlational
analyses was used to study the relationship between
participation in the stretching exercises and discomfort.
The correlation coefficient for the frequency of discomfort
variable reached significance and the region of discomfort
approached statistical significance. Statistical
significance was not evident for intensity, duration and level of discomfort variables. Except for the relationship
between increased participation in the intervention
program and a increased reduction in frequency of
discomfort, statistical evidence is absent regarding the
benefit of the intervention. However, other positive
results support the possibility of program continuation.
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