PREMUS2016

PREMUS 2016
Program
Keynote speakers
page 20
Wednesday June 22, 8:30-10:00am, Ballroom B
Dr. Jack Callaghan
Sitting to death—or at least until we’re injured
The health risks linked with prolonged sitting continue to
be a hot topic in the media. But what do we know about
prolonged sitting as an injury risk to the low back? As we
demonize sitting in favour of standing, and as sit-stand
stations become more common in workplaces, what do
we know about the risk of low-back injury associated with
prolonged standing? Is there an optimal amount of time
workers should be sitting and standing to reduce their risk
of low-back injury and improve their health?
According to Dr. Jack Callaghan, a long-time researcher on
the link between sitting and low-back pain, the answers to
these questions lie in understanding the mechanisms of
injury associated with low-back pain—how tissues in the
back become injured and generate pain, and how the spine
experiences loads in different activities.
Callaghan will talk about his research program that seeks
to understand how exposure to a variety of factors initiates
and exacerbates low-back injury. He will share what he has
learned about how to assess daily loading on the back and
how to set workplace exposure limits to prevent low-back
injuries, including limits for sitting and standing on the
job—and the optimal mix between the two.
Dr. Jack Callaghan, who holds a Canada Research Chair in
Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention, is a Professor in
the Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health
Sciences at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ont.,
Canada. He’s also the Director of Research for the Centre
of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal
Disorders (CRE-MSD). His research program into the mechanisms
of injury associated with low-back pain combines a
fundamental in-vitro research approach (i.e. examining the
response of the lumbar spine tissues) with human research
(i.e. examining how exposure to a variety of factors initiate
and exacerbate low-back injuries). It also involves the development
of methods to assess daily loading on the back and
to set workplace exposure limits as preventive measures.