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University of Florida researchers are studying whether pain self-management and workplace ergonomic changes can help horticulture workers address back pain. Early findings indicate improvements in pain and work-task difficulty, but the source report gives no participant count, measured results or final conclusions.
University of Florida researchers are studying whether pain self-management and ergonomic changes can help nursery and landscape workers manage back pain, a problem that workers and industry stakeholders said many people continue working through. Lead researcher Kim Dunleavy says early findings show improvements in pain and work-task difficulty, though the report does not provide numerical results or final conclusions.
The study is being conducted by scientists with the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, based at UF, with faculty from the university’s College of Public Health and Health Professions and Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences. Its focus is whether workers can use self-management approaches and changes to work practices to address back pain in horticulture.
In the first phase, researchers spoke with people connected to the nursery and landscape industry, including workers, supervisors and insurance consultants. Those stakeholders described workers continuing on the job despite pain. Interviews also identified physical demands such as lifting heavy plants, carrying materials, digging and working in bent or awkward positions.
Dunleavy, a clinical professor in UF’s Department of Physical Therapy and the study’s lead researcher, said pain can affect workers’ ability to earn income and employers’ productivity, retention and injury costs. She also cited potential health effects associated with reliance on pain medicines, including opioids, muscle relaxers and over-the-counter drugs. These points reflect concerns raised in the report; it does not quantify medication use or injury costs among participants.
Back Pain Affects Workers and Employers
The issue matters because horticulture work depends on physical tasks that can become difficult when workers have back pain. Stakeholders told researchers that people may keep working in the short term, while the longer-term consequences they identified include injury, burnout, reduced productivity and loss of experienced staff. The study examines whether practical changes could address pain while helping workers remain at work.
Researchers also heard that workloads shift with the season and weather. That variability may make generic advice harder to apply consistently across jobs and workdays. Participants said useful interventions should be tailored to horticulture and should not require major changes to workplace practices. The report does not specify which individual changes were tested, so it is not yet possible to compare approaches or judge their feasibility across different businesses.
The findings could inform how employers and workers discuss pain before it becomes more serious or long-lasting. Dunleavy said participants identified a need for greater workplace awareness and more guidance on preventing injury, with formal training often limited. The study’s focus on self-management and ergonomic modifications connects those concerns to possible strategies, but the early results do not establish which strategy produced improvements or whether the effects will last.
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Seasonal Work Shapes Study Needs
The report describes a workforce whose demands can vary with both season and weather. Workers may spend long periods lifting plants, moving materials, digging or holding awkward positions. These tasks provide the immediate setting for the study; the source does not say that every worker performs all of them, or that any one task caused a participant’s pain.
Researchers began by consulting people from different roles in the industry. That first phase helped surface a shared concern: workers may treat back pain as part of the job and continue working despite it. Participants also said companies had made it possible for them to take part in the study, and Dunleavy reported that they valued having options that could help them keep working while reducing pain.
The project is based at UF’s Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety and brings together researchers associated with public health, physical therapy and family, youth and community sciences. The report points readers to a separate UF/IFAS article by Chris Vivian for additional information. It does not provide a study protocol, recruitment dates or a full account of the interventions.
““Not only is back pain debilitating for workers who rely on their bodies for income, reduced productivity, losing experienced workers, and overall costs for injury have major consequences for companies.””
— Kim Dunleavy, clinical professor in UF’s Department of Physical Therapy and lead researcher
Study Results Remain Preliminary
The report gives no sample size, study dates, numerical pain scores or detailed breakdown of the interventions. It also does not state whether the early improvements were measured against a comparison group, how long they lasted or whether researchers consider them statistically meaningful. Dunleavy describes the preliminary findings as encouraging, but the available information is not enough to determine the size or durability of any effect.
It is also unclear when the study will be completed, whether results have been published in a peer-reviewed journal or whether particular strategies will be recommended for employers. The report notes concerns about pain medication but provides no data showing how often study participants use those medicines or whether the project measured medication changes.
Further Findings Could Guide Employers
The study is continuing to investigate self-management and ergonomic modifications for horticulture workers. Further reporting from the researchers could clarify which approaches were used, how outcomes were measured and whether improvements persist. The source gives no timetable for a final analysis or publication.
For now, the reported findings support continued attention to practical pain-management options and injury-prevention guidance in nursery and landscape workplaces. Employers and workers will need more detailed results before drawing conclusions about specific interventions or applying the preliminary findings broadly.
Key Questions
What is the University of Florida study examining?
It is examining whether pain self-management and ergonomic modifications can help address back pain among workers in the horticulture industry, including nursery and landscape work.
What have researchers reported so far?
Lead researcher Kim Dunleavy said preliminary findings show improvements in pain and work-task difficulty. The report provides no numerical results or details about how long the improvements lasted.
What work activities did participants identify?
Workers described tasks including lifting heavy plants, carrying materials, digging and working in bent or awkward positions. The report does not link a specific task to a particular participant’s pain.
When will the final results be available?
The report does not give a completion date or publication schedule. It also does not state whether the preliminary findings have been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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