Association Between Chronic Pain and Leisure Time Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Schoolteachers

Abstract

Chronic pain (CP) is a public health problem with harmful social and individual effects, and its relationships with physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors are unclear. This study examined the relationship between CP and PA and time spent watching television as an indicator of leisure time sedentary behavior, and explored the effects of major confounding factors. The information was obtained between 2012 and 2013 from individual interviews with 943 teachers from public schools in Londrina, Brazil. Statistical analysis was performed in 2014 using a logistic regression model adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, depression, and working conditions variables. The prevalence of CP was 31.9%. No statistically significant association was observed between PA and CP. In the adjusted analyses, CP was associated with time > 60 minutes/day spent watching television (odds ratio [OR] = 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03, 1.89) on weekdays. In analyses stratified according to body areas affected by CP, only pain in the lower limbs was associated with more time watching television (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.06, 2.47). Watching television on a weekday for > 60 minutes is a sedentary behavior associated with a greater likelihood of teachers having chronic pain, especially in the lower limbs. This association was observed independently of the main confounders such as sex, age, leisure time physical activity, depression and working conditions.

Longitudinal associations of changes in physical activity and TV viewing with chronic musculoskeletal pain in Brazilian schoolteachers

“…When considering possible markers of sedentary behavior related to cardiometabolic risk factors, selfreport that includes TV viewing showed more consistent results when compared to non-TV leisure-time sitting and accelerometry-measured sedentary behavior [20]. A previous study with the same population showed a cross-sectional relationship between TV viewing and CMP [15]. Other authors observed that the substitution of light walking for watching TV was associated with an increased risk of depression in workers [21].…”

“…There is evidence that the practice of physical activity and the reduction of television viewing (TV viewing) are associated with the improvement of CMP symptoms [12,15]. However, it is unclear to what extent changes in these behaviors may influence pain in specific population groups, such as schoolteachers, among whom CMP is highly prevalent [10,15,16].…”

“…There is evidence that the practice of physical activity and the reduction of television viewing (TV viewing) are associated with the improvement of CMP symptoms [12,15]. However, it is unclear to what extent changes in these behaviors may influence pain in specific population groups, such as schoolteachers, among whom CMP is highly prevalent [10,15,16]. Previous cross-sectional analyses with Brazilian teachers identified a significant association between a higher frequency of physical inactivity and chronic pain [17] and the highest chance of pain in TV watchers for more than an hour daily [15].…”

“…However, it is unclear to what extent changes in these behaviors may influence pain in specific population groups, such as schoolteachers, among whom CMP is highly prevalent [10,15,16]. Previous cross-sectional analyses with Brazilian teachers identified a significant association between a higher frequency of physical inactivity and chronic pain [17] and the highest chance of pain in TV watchers for more than an hour daily [15]. In another cross-sectional study with Chinese teachers, the practice of physical exercise for seven hours or more per week was associated with a lower prevalence of musculoskeletal pain [10].…”

Lifestyle and Chronic Pain across the Lifespan: An Inconvenient Truth?

“…For instance, insufficient physical activity (<2.5 h/wk) was not associated with low back pain intensity or disability, but high television viewing time (≥2 h/d) was associated with greater prevalence of low back pain disability in women . Likewise, independently of the main confounders such as sex, age, leisure time physical activity, depression, and working conditions, watching television on a weekday for >60 minutes was related with a greater likelihood of having chronic pain, especially in the lower limbs . This requires further investigation.…”