{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,20]],"date-time":"2026-06-20T02:13:33Z","timestamp":1781921613365,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]],"date-time":"2020-06-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1591660800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There is not enough data available on occupational health and safety issues of underground coal miners in Pakistan. This study focuses on spinal disorders in association with personal and occupational factors. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used for a cross-sectional study of 260 workers of 20 mines located in four districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Regression models were created for upper back pain and lower back pain of workers whose mean age is 19.8 years (\u00b1SD 1.47). Results identify the coal cutting as the most harmful work with odds ratios (ORs) 13.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 13.7\u201321.5) for lower back pain and 11.2 (95% CI 3.5\u201319.4) for upper back pain in participants. Those with greater years of work experience had higher odds of upper back pain (2.4, 95% CI 1.4\u20133.5) and lower back pain (3.3, 95% CI 1.1\u20134.4). Number of repetitions (mean value 25.85\/minute with \u00b1SD 9.48) are also significant for spinal disorder with ORs of 4.3 (95% CI 3.2\u20137.4) for lower back and 1.3 (95% CI 1.0\u20132.4) for upper back. Many other occupational and personal factors are positively associated with the back pain in underground coal mines workers, requiring immediate ergonomic intervention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17114102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]],"date-time":"2020-06-09T05:16:14Z","timestamp":1591679774000},"page":"4102","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Risk Factors Associated with the Prevalence of Upper and Lower Back Pain in Male Underground Coal Miners in Punjab, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Madiha","family":"Ijaz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Akram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sajid Rashid","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamran","family":"Mirza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Geology, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Falaq","family":"Ali Nadeem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1813-6195","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven M.","family":"Thygerson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, College of Life Sciences, Brigham Young University,  Provo, UT 84602, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,6,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"241","article-title":"Musculoskeletal disorders and risk factors of workers in Indian mining industry: A cross-sectional study","volume":"1","author":"Ahmad","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. 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