A comparison of the effectiveness of the Williams and McKenzie educational programs in the prevention of low back injuries in the industrial setting.

摘要

The focus of this study was on two educational programs designed to prevent low back injury. The approaches, which claim clinical success, were being utilized in preventative programs. This study ascertained if there were significant differences between the two approaches concerning the following variables: number of injuries, the number of working days lost, medical compensation, and workman's compensation paid.;The results of this study did not prove conclusive in the determination of the most successful educational program to prevent back injury. No statistical difference between the two educational programs was detected. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the experimental groups and the control group. A major stumbling block to determine if either of the educational programs was more effective was the lack of a sufficiently large population. Larger numbers of participants are a must to ensure a statistically significant number of injuries. A longer period of time between the instructional phase and the beginning of data collection would, potentially, provide an increase in the number of low back injuries.;The treatments in this study included two educational prevention programs: Williams and McKenzie. These treatments were administered to the members of a fire department with selection to one of the groups determined by the individual's normally scheduled work shift. The participants were divided into three equal groups. Group One received the educational program encouraged by McKenzie, Group Two received the Williams educational program, and Group Three was maintained as a control group. Three educational sessions were provided during an eight month time frame. Information for the two treatments was disseminated by slides, audio tape and verbal instruction. To test the dependent variables after the implementation of instruction, an ANOVA was utilized. To ascertain the retention level of the participants, a cognitive test was presented. A pass/fail grading system was developed, and a Chi-square analysis was used for statistical evaluation.