Preventive Intervention in Nursery School Teachers

October 30, 2008 updated by: University of Bologna

Effectiveness of an Extension-Oriented Exercise Program in Preventing Neck and Low Back Complaints in Nursery School Teachers

Childcare in nursery schools has been shown to be associated with an elevated prevalence of neck, shoulder, arm and low back disorders. The current evidence suggests that exercises seem to be the only effective preventive intervention. Thus the purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of an extension-oriented exercise program in preventing low back/neck pain and functional disability in nursery school teachers. In addition, the investigators also sought to identify the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints in this category of workers.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Seventy-one nursery school teachers working in nine school buildings were randomly divided into two groups, with each school as a unit of randomization. All the teachers in both groups received an ergonomic brochure; teachers in the experimental group also received an extension-oriented exercise program, conducted by a physical therapist. Data were collected at baseline and at a two-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure recorded was the level of disability (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index), while secondary outcome measures included LBP and neck pain presence (Pain Drawing) and intensity (Visual Analogue Scale). At follow-up, a significant improvement was registered in the experimental group for all the outcomes evaluated. In conclusion a six-session extension-oriented exercise program proved decisive in preventing low back and neck complaints and in reducing consequent LBP functional disability among nursery school teachers.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

71

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Emilia-Romagna
      • Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, 40138
        • University of Bologna

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

The study population was composed by all the 71 nursery school teachers, employed at the town hall of Forlì, that worked in nine different school buildings similar in size and furniture. As provided for by the Italian law (Emilia-Romagna Regional Law No. 1 of January 10, 2000 - art. 32, followed by the Directive of July 25, 2001), teachers had the same working schedule and the same workload in terms of teacher/children ratio depending on children age.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • medical history of serious injury
  • spinal surgery
  • malignant pathology

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 2
Other: Informative Brochure
The brochure showed the correct way to lift loads, and provided ergonomic suggestions to prevent musculoskeletal complaints, according to the Italian legislation
Other Names:
  • Educational
  • Informative Pamphlet
EXPERIMENTAL: 1
Other: Extension-oriented exercise program
The exercise program was composed of six graded sessions, two per week for three consecutive weeks. Sessions, each of one hour length, were conducted after the working hours in a wide room of the nursery school, gathering together all the teachers from each school. The exercises were selected in order to reinforce lumbar extension and to strengthen the primary stabilizers of the spine (transversus abdominis, oblique abdominal, multifidus, quadratus lumborum and erector spinae muscles)
Other Names:
  • EOTA
Other: Informative Brochure
The brochure showed the correct way to lift loads, and provided ergonomic suggestions to prevent musculoskeletal complaints, according to the Italian legislation
Other Names:
  • Educational
  • Informative Pamphlet

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 months
Baseline, 2 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Pain Drawing and Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 months
Baseline, 2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Bologna

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

October 1, 2007

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2007

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 30, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 30, 2008

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

October 31, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

October 31, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 30, 2008

Last Verified

October 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PP001032008

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe