Abstract

A joint committee composed of representatives of the CSST, the IRSST and the Joint Sectoral Association, Construction Sector has been formed to establish and develop a programme to prevent back injuries at their source in the construction industry. To support its work, the committee has created a working group to document the current situation concerning back injuries in this sector. In order to develop new primary-prevention and intervention strategies, especially those relevant to the six trades targeted by the joint sectoral association, this project reviewed the literature on this subject. The literature review briefly describes the most common causes of back injuries and identifies several widely accepted management- and engineering-based prevention measures.