Office workers remain in a awkward position for long periods, which can lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Ergonomic guidelines are recommended to avoid such problems. Evidence of the long-term effectiveness of ergonomic interventions is scarce. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to compare pain intensity among office workers who received an ergonomic intervention and a control group before as well as 12, 24, and 36 weeks after the intervention. Workers were randomly allocated to a control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). The EG received an ergonomic workstation intervention. Furniture measurements were related to individual anthropometric measurements to identify mismatches. The outcome was pain intensity, which was determined using a numerical pain scale and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. A linear mixed model was created with pain intensity as the dependent variable. Group and time were the independent variables. No significant interactions were found between group and time. Significant differences between groups were found for the pain intensity in the neck, shoulder, upper back, and wrist/hand (P<0.05), with lower intensity in the EG. The intervention reduced pain intensity in the neck, shoulder, upper back, and wrist/hand. However, no reduction in pain intensity was found for the lower back or elbow.

Background Considering the confinement recommended by the World Health Organization due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, many community physical exercise programmes for older adults have had their activities cancelled. In this context, proposing strategies to recover the possible adverse effects of the confinement period is pertinent. The use of self-management strategies associated with regular physical activity reduces sedentary behaviour and improves physical capacity in older adults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe a multicomponent training programme combined with a self-management strategy protocol to mitigate the effects of interruptions in physical exercise programmes on functionality, physical capacity, mental health, body composition and quality of life in older adults. Methods This will be a blinded, randomized and controlled clinical trial performed in São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Eighty older adults will be divided into two groups: multicomponent training (Multi) and multicomponent training + self-management strategies (Multi+SM). The intervention will be performed over 16 weeks on three alternate days of every week, with 50-min sessions. The assessment of physical capacity will be performed before the interruption of physical exercise programmes (T0: initial assessment, March 2020), preintervention (T1: immediately after the return of the exercise programme) and postintervention (T2). The assessments of physical activity level, quality of life, mental health, functionality and body composition will be performed at T1 and T2. Discussion The results from this MC+SM protocol will allow us to contribute clinical support to evaluate the variables analysed and to guide future public health policies with the aim of minimizing the possible deleterious effects arising from the physical exercise interruption periods caused by epidemics and pandemics. Trial registration RBR-10zs97gk. Prospectively registered in Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) on 17 June 2021. Registry name: Use of self-management strategies combined with multicomponent training to mitigate the effects of social distancing due to COVID-19 on capacity, physical capacity, mental health and quality of life in older adults - A blind, randomized and controlled clinical trial.

Background: Considering the confinement recommended by the World Health Organization due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, community physical exercise programs for older adults had their activities cancelled. In this context, proposing strategies to recover possible adverse effects of confinement period are pertinent. The use of self-management strategies associated with regular physical activity reduces the sedentary behavior and improves the physical capacity in older adults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe a multicomponent training program combined with self management strategies protocol to mitigate the effects of the physical exercise programs interruption on functionality, physical capacity, mental health, body composition and quality of life in older adults Methods: This will be a blinded, randomized and controlled clinical trial. Eighty older adults will be divided into two groups: multicomponent training(Multi) and multicomponent training+ self-management strategies(Multi+SM). The intervention will be performed in 16-weeks, on three alternate days of every week, with 50-min sessions. The assessment of physical capacity will be performed before the physical Page 2 of 17 exercise programs interruption (T0- initial assessment-March/2020), pre-intervention (T1- immediately after the exercise program return) and post intervention (T2). The assessments of physical activity level, quality of life, mental health, functionality and body composition will be performed in T1 and T2.Discussion: The results from this MC+SM protocol will allow to contribute with clinical support to evaluate the variables analyzed, and to guide future public health policies, aiming at minimizing the possible deleterious effects arising from the physical exercise interruption periods caused by epidemics and pandemicsTrial registration: Prospectively registered.Registry Name: Use of self-management strategies combined with multicomponent training to mitigate the effects of social distance from COVID-19 on capacity, physical capacity, mental health and quality of life in the older adults - A blind, randomized and controlled clinical trial.Registration Number: RBR-10zs97gkDate of Registration: 17Jun2021URL: https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-10zs97gk