Effect of workplace- versus home-based physical exercise on musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Effect of workplace-versus home-based physical exercise on musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers: a cluster randomized controlled trial by Jakobsen MD, Sundstrup E, Brandt M, Jay K, Aagaard P, Andersen LL Physical exercise at work together with colleagues is more effective than home-based exercise in reducing musculoskeletal pain and use of analgesics among female healthcare workers. Affiliation 153Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2015;41(2):153-163. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3479 Effect of workplace-versus home-based physical exercise on musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers: a cluster randomized controlled trial Objective Numerous studies has shown that regular physical exercise can reduce musculoskeletal pain, but the optimal setting to achieve high adherence and effectiveness remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of workplace versus home-based physical exercise on musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers. MethodsThe randomized controlled trial (RCT) comprised 200 female healthcare workers from 18 departments at 3 hospitals. Participants were randomly allocated at the cluster level to ten weeks of: (i) workplace physical exercise (WORK) performed during working hours for 5×10 minutes per week and up to 5 group-based coaching sessions on motivation for regular physical exercise, or (ii) home-based physical exercise (HOME) performed during leisure time for 5×10 minutes per week. Both groups received ergonomic counseling on patient handling and use of lifting aides. Average pain intensity (0-10 scale) in the low back and neck/shoulder was the primary outcome.Results Per week, 2.2 (SD 1.1) and 1.0 (SD 1.2) training sessions were performed in WORK and HOME groups, respectively. Pain intensity, back muscle strength and use of analgesics improved more following WORK than HOME (P<0.05). Between-group differences at follow-up (WORK versus HOME) was -0.7 points for pain intensity [95% confidence interval (95% CI) -1.0--0.3], 5.5 Nm for back muscle strength (95% CI 2.0-9.0), and -0.4 days per week for use of analgesics (95% CI -0.7--0.2). The effect size for between-group differences in pain intensity was small (Cohen's d=0.31).Conclusions Workplace physical exercise is more effective than home-based exercise in reducing musculoskeletal pain, increasing muscle strength and reducing the use of analgesics among healthcare workers.

Strength Training for Women as a Vehicle for Health Promotion at Work

“…Jakobsen et al were the only authors to report effect sizes for a portion of their results (23). For three publications effect sizes could not even be calculated retrospectively (25,28,30).…”

“…Largely independent of the composition of the collective and the training methods, these factors were enhanced. In their study of 200 female healthcare professionals, Jakobsen et al found that interventions in the workplace were more likely than interventions at home to result in positive changes with regard to wellbeing, work satisfaction, and the desire to exercise (p <0.0001) (23).…”

“…After elimination of duplicates and scrutiny of study titles and abstracts, 68 articles remained for full-text analysis. Twelve publications fulfilled the selection criteria laid out in Table 1 (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). The commonest reasons for exclusion were the absence of sex-specific analysis and the lack of muscle strength measurement.…”

Group exercise for adults and elderly: Determinants of participation in group exercise and its associations with health outcome

“…According to cross-sectional studies, participation in sports organizations was associated with a lower risk of falling 18) and with having 20 or more teeth 19) . According to a cluster randomized controlled trial, group exercise at the workplace was more effective than individual exercise at home in reducing musculoskeletal pain and the use of analgesics, and in increasing muscle strength 20) . One cohort study examined the association between participation in sports organizations and incident functional disability 21) .…”

Long-term effectiveness of an educational and physical intervention for preventing low-back pain recurrence: a randomized controlled trial

“…Specific attention should be paid to ensure the technical skills of the participants in the realization of their exercises. The logic model of future interventions should be carefully thought ahead (38) with a clear integration of mechanisms to improve participants' motivation and observance (39)(40)(41).…”