Effectiveness of Ergonomic Training and Exercise in Automotive Factory Workers With Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain

Effectiveness of Ergonomic Training and Exercise in Automotive Factory Workers With Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study compares the effectiveness of ergonomic training and exercise in automotive factory workers with chronic low back pain of unknown cause.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Work-related Illness
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Ergonomics training; Other: exercise program

Detailed Description

The study was planned as a randomized controlled study. Workers between the ages of 18-60 who have back pain and work in an automotive factory in Galway, Ireland will be included in the study. Participants will be divided into two groups. The factory workers included in the study will be divided into a study group and a control group using a simple random method. Randomization will be done using the sealed envelope method. The study group will be given stretching and strengthening exercises along with ergonomics training. The control group will be given only ergonomics training. The exercises they will do and the ergonomics training will be explained to the participants individually and supported with a brochure. The participants will be asked to do the given exercises 3 days a week and continue for 12 weeks. The given exercises will be followed up with an exercise follow-up chart. In order to collect data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, a personal information form will be prepared by the researcher and the participants will be asked to fill it out. In order to collect data from the participants; Visual Analog Scale will be used to collect information about pain, International Physical Activity Questionnaire to collect information about physical activity levels, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire to determine sleep quality, Oswestry Low Back Pain Scale for functionality assessment, Manual Muscle Testing to determine muscle strength. These questionnaires will be repeated before starting the study and at the end of the study. The data to be obtained will be evaluated using SPSS 24 package program.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 56
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Ireland
  • Galway, Ireland
    • Valeo Vision System

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being between 18-60 years old
• Having worked in the same factory for at least 2 years
• Working full time
• Having complained of back pain for at least 3 months
• visual analog scale>4, pain 4 and above on visual analog scale

Exclusion Criteria

• Being under 18 years old or over 60 years old
• Having worked for less than 2 years
• Working part time
• Having complained of back pain for less than 3 months
• visual analog scale Presence of psychological problems
• Using sleeping pills
• Having undergone surgical intervention in the last 6 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Ergonomics training; group without any intervention	Other: Ergonomics training; Each of the control group participants will receive separate ergonomics training. The content of this training will include the topics of "what is ergonomics, the purpose of ergonomics, musculoskeletal diseases in employees, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors."
Experimental: Ergonomics training +exercise program; The group that followed the 12-week exercise program	Other: Ergonomics training; Each of the control group participants will receive separate ergonomics training. The content of this training will include the topics of "what is ergonomics, the purpose of ergonomics, musculoskeletal diseases in employees, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors."; Other: exercise program; stretching exercises strengthening exercises waist exercises core exercises relaxation exercises

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire	It was developed to measure the functionality of individuals. The scale determines functional disability for activities such as sitting, walking, personal care, lifting, social life, travel, and sleep. There are 10 questions in this scale. Each question has 6 options. Participants are asked to choose the definition that best describes their situation from these options. A score of 0-5 is assigned for each of the sentences, and the highest possible score is 50 points. It is evaluated as mild between 1 and 10 points, moderate between 11 and 30 points, and severe between 31 and 50 points.	14 weeks
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index	Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; It evaluates sleep duration, sleep disturbance, sleep efficiency, subjective sleep quality, sleep medication use, daytime dysfunction, and sleep delay and consists of a total of 24 questions. 19 of them are self-report scales and 5 of them consist of questions to be answered by a friend or spouse. There are 7 components with 18 questions scored in the scale, and each component is evaluated between 0 and 3 points. The total score ranges from 0 to 21, and 5 or more is an indicator of "poor sleep quality	14 weeks
Short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire	It consists of 8 questions with a recall period defined as 'last week'. The questions of the scale ask whether the participant walks for at least 10 minutes on any given day or does moderate or vigorous activities, and how much time/day the individual spends on each of these activities.	14 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Uskudar University
• Investigators: Study Chair: Kübra TOSYALI, Uskudar University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chenot JF, Greitemann B, Kladny B, Petzke F, Pfingsten M, Schorr SG. Non-Specific Low Back Pain. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017 Dec 25;114(51-52):883-890. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0883.
• Pehlevan E, Sevgin O. Effect of exercise given to factory workers with ergonomics training on pain and functionality: A randomized controlled trial. Work. 2024;78(1):195-205. doi: 10.3233/WOR-230663.
• Stieglitz DD, Vinson DR, Hampton MC. Equipment-based Pilates reduces work-related chronic low back pain and disability: A pilot study. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2016 Jan;20(1):74-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2015.06.006. Epub 2015 Jun 15.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 25, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): August 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 3, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 6, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 7, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Back Pain; Low Back Pain; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Patient Care; Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Technology, Industry, and Agriculture; Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; Engineering; Resistance Training; Ergonomics
• Other Study ID Numbers: Uskudar25

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No