Additional Benefits of Neck Exercises in Addition to Ergonomic Training in Office Workers With Neck Pain

October 8, 2023 updated by: Foundation University Islamabad
Neck pain is a multifactorial disease and the factors related to neck pain are physical workloads, poor ergonomic work design and certain psychosocial factors. It arises due to disease of cervical spine and soft tissues of the neck, muscle spasm, falling asleep in awkward position, prolong working at computer desk with bent neck. The objective of the study is to compare the effects of neck exercises in addition to ergonomic training and ergonomic training alone on pain severity, neck disability, cervical range of motion and burnout in neck pain among office workers

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Neck pain remains the most common musculoskeletal disorder faced by office workers. There are an increasing number of reports available in regards to neck pain whether it is related with muscles, tendons, joints or soft tissue inflammation. It arises due to disease of cervical spine and soft tissues of the neck, muscle spasm, falling asleep in awkward position, prolong working at computer desk with bent neck. It has multiple treatment options and neck exercises are one of them. However, no concrete evidence is available on the effects of both neck exercises and ergonomic training on neck pain. this study will help individuals to maintain health and safety in the workplace while maintaining efficiency in their job performance by introducing proper ergonomic guidelines. This will eventually going to increase quality of work, productivity as a team and satisfaction with work. It will create awareness about utilization of ergonomic and exercise intervention without many side effects to avoid WMSDs. It will determine the emotional and psychological exhaustion among office workers with neck pain. It will supplement the existing literature. The main objectives of the study is to compare the effects of neck exercises in addition to ergonomic training and ergonomic training alone on pain severity, neck disability, cervical range of motion and burnout in neck pain among office workers.This RCT will be carried out in a period of one year (January 2023-2024). The sample size of 54 participants will be recruited according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both males and females aged between 25-50 years working for 7-9 hours with postural neck pain will be included in the study. the participants must have neck pain above 4 on NPRS and neck pain without radiculopathy. The ones fulfilling the criteria will be selected through non-probability purposive sampling and allocated in groups (A and B) through coin toss method. Group A will receive neck exercises along with ergonomic guidelines and group B will only follow the ergonomic guidelines. Participants of both groups will receive intervention for 3 weeks on alternate days. The data will be collected through numeric pain rating scale, neck disability index, cervical range of motion and Oldenburg burnout inventory. The data will be analyzed on SPSS 22.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

54

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab
      • Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, 46000
        • Recruiting
        • Foundation University College of Physical Therapy
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Both male and female office workers.
  • Age 25-50 years.
  • Individuals with working hours duration of 7-9 hours.
  • Individuals with postural neck pain.
  • Individuals with neck pain above 4 on NPRS.
  • Individuals with primary complaint of neck pain without radiculopathy.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of trauma to neck.
  • Bilateral upper limb symptoms.
  • Prior surgery to cervical and upper thoracic spine.
  • History of whiplash injury.
  • Degenerative disc disease.
  • Diminished or absent sensations to pinprick in upper limb dermatomes.
  • Positive two or more neurological signs.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise and ergonomic intervention group

Patients will be explained about the procedure and informed consent will be taken.

  1. Individuals will be given a copy of ergonomic guidelines to follow which includes:

    • Organize workstation according to the primary , secondary and tertiary zones.
    • Place frequently used items within the reach of an arm.
    • Don't move head while reading documents instead raise or lower the eyes to read.
    • Correct the monitor height such that the top of the screen is at or slightly lower than eye level.
    • Keep reference material upright at desk.
    • Avoid slouched postural habits, sit upright.
    • Adjust chair height in such a way that it shouldn't compress the thigh.
    • Arm rest should be at elbow flexion of 90 degrees.
    • Phone must be cradled between neck and shoulder to avoid forward head posture.
  2. Neck exercises will be given
Procedure: Ergonomic training

1. Individuals will be given a copy of ergonomic guidelines to follow which includes:

  • Organize workstation according to the primary , secondary and tertiary zones.
  • Place frequently used items within the reach of an arm.
  • Don't move head while reading documents instead raise or lower the eyes to read.
  • Correct the monitor height such that the top of the screen is at or slightly lower than eye level.
  • Keep reference material upright at desk.
  • Avoid slouched postural habits, sit upright.
  • Adjust chair height in such a way that it shouldn't compress the thigh.
  • Arm rest should be at elbow flexion of 90 degrees.
  • Phone must be cradled between neck and shoulder to avoid forward head posture.
Procedure: Neck Exercises

Neck Exercises Strengthening exercises of Deep cervical flexors,rhomboids,lower Trapezius, Middle Trapezius, serratus anterior.

Neck Stretching of Suboccipitals,Sternocleidomastoid ,Scalenes,Upper trapezius, Levator scapulae,Pectoralis major and minor.
Active Comparator: Group B(Ergonomic intervention group)

Patients will be explained about the procedure and informed consent will be taken.

Individuals will be given a copy of ergonomic guidelines to follow which includes:

  • Organize workstation according to the primary , secondary and tertiary zones.
  • Place frequently used items within the reach of an arm.
  • Don't move head while reading documents instead raise or lower the eyes to read.
  • Correct the monitor height such that the top of the screen is at or slightly lower than eye level.
  • Keep reference material upright at desk.
  • Avoid slouched postural habits, sit upright.
  • Adjust chair height in such a way that it shouldn't compress the thigh.
  • Arm rest should be at elbow flexion of 90 degrees.
  • Phone must be cradled between neck and shoulder to avoid forward head posture.
Procedure: Ergonomic training

1. Individuals will be given a copy of ergonomic guidelines to follow which includes:

  • Organize workstation according to the primary , secondary and tertiary zones.
  • Place frequently used items within the reach of an arm.
  • Don't move head while reading documents instead raise or lower the eyes to read.
  • Correct the monitor height such that the top of the screen is at or slightly lower than eye level.
  • Keep reference material upright at desk.
  • Avoid slouched postural habits, sit upright.
  • Adjust chair height in such a way that it shouldn't compress the thigh.
  • Arm rest should be at elbow flexion of 90 degrees.
  • Phone must be cradled between neck and shoulder to avoid forward head posture.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
Time Frame: 3 weeks
It is an 11 item self-rated scale. Participants rate their pain from 0 to 10. Score of 0 indicates no pain whereas 10 represents worst pain ever experienced. It has an excellent reliability with an ICC of 0.93-0.96.
3 weeks
Neck Disability Index Urdu version (NDI-U)
Time Frame: 3 weeks
This is a 10 item questionnaire. This is a self-rated questionnaire to rate disability. Participants choose from an option from 0 to 5. Scoring is done by taking sum of all the answers. Score of 0 shows no disability whereas 50 indicate maximum level of disability. Score 0-4 indicates no disability, 5-14 indicates mild disability, 15-24 indicates moderate disability, 25-34 indicates severe disability and above 34 indicates that the person is completely disabled by the pain. It has an excellent reliability with an ICC of 0.88.
3 weeks
Cervical Range of Motion using Goniometer
Time Frame: 3 weeks
A goniometer has 12-inch arms and a full circle body. It has one stationary arm and the second moving arm. Movement is performed and range of motion is measured. Goniometer will be used to measure flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation. It has an ICC of 0.83-0.98
3 weeks
Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI)
Time Frame: 3 weeks
This is a 16 item questionnaire. It is also a self-rated questionnaire which is used to determine burnout level. Participants choose an option from 0 to 4 on a likert scale. Scores of question number 2,3,4,6,8,9,11,12 are reversed in order to find a true score. Scoring is done by taking a sum of all the answers. 0 indicates no burnout whereas score of 64 indicates highest level of burnout encountered by an individual.
3 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Foundation University Islamabad

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 (Actual)

October 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 8, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 8, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

October 12, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 12, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 8, 2023

Last Verified

October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • FUI/CTR/2023/20

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

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