Effective Methods of Reducing Lower Back, Neck and Shoulder Pain Among Office Workers

Effect of Exercise Training and Ergonomic Modification on Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Office Workers

Background:Musculoskeletal discomforts (MSD), especially in the neck, lower back and shoulder areas, are some of the most common issues among office workers. The Social Security Organization (SOCSO) in Malaysia caps number of cases involving musculoskeletal injuries at a maximum of 10,000 per year.

Objectives: The primary aims of this research were to: 1. Measure the prevalence of MSD in a sample of office workers; 2. Test effective methods of reducing lower back, neck and shoulder pain in this sample by training exercise, or ergonomics modification, or both of them; and 3. Assess discomfort scores and the range of motion of the lower back, neck and shoulder muscles among the office workers after undertaking the different methods for a period of 6 months.

Methods: In a true experimental design, from 10,000 staff in Telecom Malaysia,onehundred and forty two office workers (of whom 50 were male), aged 20-50 y, were allocated randomly, from 3 different locations (Bangsar, Puchung, and Damansara), to one of three intervention groups (receiving training exercise, receiving modified ergonomics, receiving a combination of exercise and ergonomics modification) and a control group (receiving none of these interventions). The Cornell MSD Questionnaire was used to measure musculoskeletal discomforts, with focus on pain severity, before treatment and after 2, 4 and 6 months of the interventions. The range of motion (ROM) of the hip, neck, shoulder and knee were measured by a 12 inch goniometer, and the Borg CR10 scale was used to measure the perceived exertion of training exercises. The rapid office strain assessment (ROSA) questionnaire was used to assess the strain associated with office work. Height and weight were also measured to calculate the body mass index (BMI).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Low Back Pain; Musculoskeletal Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: office exercise training; Other: ergonomic modification; Other: Exercise and ergonomic; Other: Control

Detailed Description

It is expected that, 6 months intervention including exercise training, ergonomic modification and mixture of these 2 intervention, maybe can decrease the severity of pain in lower back, neck and shoulder among office workers.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 142
• Phase: Phase 1

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Working in office

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any physical or mental disease any surgery in background any limitation by Dr

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Office exercise training; A package of exercise raining was defined by the researcher and one of the intervention group did it for 6 months.	Other: office exercise training; The exercise group, did 6 months office exercise training.
Experimental: Ergonomic modification; The ergonomic group, followed 6 months ergonomic modification.	Other: ergonomic modification; The ergonomic modification group, followed 6 months modified office ergonomic modification.
Experimental: Exercise and ergonomic; The mixture group, did 6 months exercise training and also followed 6 months ergonomic modification.	Other: Exercise and ergonomic; The mixture group, did 6 months exercise training and also followed 6 months modified office ergonomic modification.
Experimental: Control; Control group did not do any exercise and did not follow any ergonomic modification.	Other: Control; Control group did not do any exercise and did not follow any ergonomic modification.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measuring the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder By Cornell questionniare	The Cornell MSD Questionnaire was used to measure musculoskeletal discomforts.	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measure the effects of exercise training on decrease the musculoskeletal disorder by measuring the range of motion in neck, shoulder and lower back, and severity of pain will be measured by Cornell questionniare	range of motion was measured by Goniometer.	Change from Baseline musculoskeletal disorder at 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universiti Putra Malaysia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Shariat A, Cleland JA, Danaee M, Kargarfard M, Sangelaji B, Tamrin SBM. Effects of stretching exercise training and ergonomic modifications on musculoskeletal discomforts of office workers: a randomized controlled trial. Braz J Phys Ther. 2018 Mar-Apr;22(2):144-153. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.09.003. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 11, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 19, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): August 22, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): August 22, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 19, 2016
• Last Verified: August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Back Pain; Low Back Pain; Musculoskeletal Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: UPM/TNCPI/1.4.18.1(JKEUPM)/F2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: We have not decided about it yet.