Lifting expert says study reopens debate
Just when it seemed the debate over the effectiveness of back belts was dying down, along comes The Home Depot study. Now the debate is shifted right back to where it was a year or so ago: squarely in the middle, with no clear answer as to whether the back belts work.
That’s the assessment of Sheree Gibson, BSME, MSE, PE, CPE, an ergonomics consultant in Simpsonville, SC, and vice chairwoman of the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) committee on ergonomics. The AIHA is located in Fairfax, VA.
The popularity of back belts skyrocketed in the early and mid-1990s, but then fell off substantially in the past two years when the AIHA and other professional groups pointed out there was no proof of their effectiveness. The tide seemed to have turned decisively against the belts, and now The Home Depot study changes all of that.
But the new research does not shift the evidence all the way in favor of the back belts, Gibson says. Instead, it only swings the pendulum away from "useless fad" back to "we don’t know if they work or not."
"We’re right back in the middle of the debate now," Gibson tells Occupational Health Management. "I may not be as critical I once was, but I still want to see more research. This is just one study, and there are lots more that suggest the belts don’t work."
The new research is interesting enough to prompt the AIHA to take another look at its position on back belts. Previously, the AIHA neither supported nor condemned the use of belts, but the group expressed skepticism based on the lack of research. A new position paper on the effectiveness of back belts could be issued early in 1997, Gibson says, but she says she does not yet know how the AIHA’s position might differ from previous statements.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Washington, DC, also is reviewing its position on back belts, with particular attention to The Home Depot research, says spokesman Fred Blosser. For now, the agency has not changed its previously stated position that there is no reliable evidence showing the effectiveness of back belts.
Gibson points out that The Home Depot study has some shortcomings, several of which the researchers also acknowledge. The differences in injury reduction among different age groups and the difference between men and women are troubling, she says. And while the size of the study is reassuring, the fact that all of the subjects worked for a single employer adds its own problems. Without further research isolating why the belts reduced injuries, it is difficult to know how much of the injury reduction was due to employee recruitment, policies, or other factors unique to that employer.
Although there is no evidence whatsoever that the company influenced the study results, it should be mentioned that The Home Depot sells back belts to the public.
Gibson says the study is intriguing, but she cautions against interpreting the results too broadly. She would not recommend the use of back belts to a client at this point, but she admits that the new research would make her less likely to dismiss an employer’s interest in using the belts. It probably would be best to educate the employer about the new research and point out that it does not answer all the important questions.
"This is such a complex issue, and I’m afraid one study isn’t going to answer all the questions," she says. "It does make me more curious to see some other research, but I’m not going to go out yet and tell everyone to use a back belt."
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