Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis Suggest Strength Training and Workplace Modifications May Reduce Neck Pain in Office Workers

Pain Practice ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Frutiger ◽  
Robert Borotkanics
Author(s):  
Shereen Louw ◽  
Shale Makwela ◽  
Lorisha Manas ◽  
Lyle Meyer ◽  
Daniele Terblanche ◽  
...  

Background: Non-specific neck pain is a common health problem of global concern for office workers. This systematic review ascertained the latest evidence for the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise versus no therapeutic exercise on reducing neck pain and improving quality of life (QoL) in office workers with non-specific neck pain.Method: Seven electronic databases using keywords, that is, ‘office workers’, ‘non-specific neck pain’, ‘exercise’ and/or ‘exercise therapy’, ‘QoL’, ‘strengthening’, ‘stretching’, ‘endurance’, ‘physiotherapy’ and/or ‘physical therapy’, were searched from inception until March 2017. Heterogeneous data were reported in narrative format and comparable homogenous data were pooled using Revman.Results: Eight randomised control trials were reviewed and scored on average 6.63/10 on the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Five studies performed strengthening exercise, one study had a strengthening and an endurance exercise group, one study performed stretching exercise and one study had an endurance intervention group and a stretching intervention group. Five and four studies reported significant improvement in neck pain and QoL, respectively, when conducting strengthening exercise. When performing endurance exercises, one and two studies reported significant changes in neck pain and QoL, respectively. The one study incorporating stretching exercise reported significant improvement in neck pain. The meta-analysis revealed that there is a clinically significant difference favouring strengthening exercise over no exercise in pain reduction but not for QoL.Conclusion: There is level II evidence recommending that clinicians include strengthening exercise to improve neck pain and QoL. However, the effect of endurance and stretching exercise needs to be explored further.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqi Chen ◽  
Brooke K Coombes ◽  
Gisela Sjøgaard ◽  
Deokhoon Jun ◽  
Shaun O’Leary ◽  
...  

Pain Practice ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Maurício Passos Nunes ◽  
João Paulo Azinheira Martins Moita ◽  
Maria Margarida Marques Rebelo Espanha ◽  
Kristian Kjær Petersen ◽  
Lars Arendt‐Nielsen

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e038854
Author(s):  
Carlos Tersa-Miralles ◽  
Roland Pastells-Peiró ◽  
Francesc Rubí-Carnacea ◽  
Filip Bellon ◽  
Esther Rubinat Arnaldo

IntroductionPhysical inactivity due to changes in our society towards more sedentary behaviours is leading to health problems. Increasing physical activity might be a good strategy to improve physical strength and reduce the prevalence of illnesses associated with prolonged sitting. Office workers exhibit a sedentary lifestyle with short rest periods or even without pauses during the workday. It is important to perform workplace interventions to treat musculoskeletal disorders caused by prolonged sitting and lack of movement adopted on the office setting. This article describes a protocol for a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise interventions on office workers in their work environment.Methods and analysisA literature search will be performed in the PubMed, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, Scopus, ISI WoS and PeDRO databases for randomised controlled trials and studies published from 1 January 2010 to 31 July 2020 in English or Spanish. The participants will be office workers who spend most of their work time in a sitting position. The interventions performed will include any type of exercise intervention in the workplace. The outcome measures will vary in accordance with the aim of the intervention observed. The results of the review and the outcomes from the studies reviewed will be summarised with a narrative synthesis. The review protocol was developed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required. The review outcomes and the additional data obtained will be disseminated through publications and in scientific conferences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020177462.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Chrcanovic ◽  
Johan Larsson ◽  
Eva-Maj Malmström ◽  
Hans Westergren ◽  
Birgitta Häggman-Henrikson

Abstract Objectives Acute as well as chronic pain syndromes are common after whiplash trauma and exercise therapy is proposed as one possible intervention strategy. The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the effect of exercise therapy in patients with Whiplash-Associated Disorders for the improvement of neck pain and neck disability, compared with other therapeutic interventions, placebo interventions, no treatment, or waiting list. Content The review was registered in Prospero (CRD42017060356) and conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A literature search in PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane from inception until January 13, 2020 was combined with a hand search to identify eligible randomized controlled studies. Abstract screening, full text assessment and risk of bias assessment (Cochrane RoB 2.0) were conducted by two independent reviewers. Summary The search identified 4,103 articles. After removal of duplicates, screening of 2,921 abstracts and full text assessment of 100 articles, 27 articles that reported data for 2,127 patients were included. The included articles evaluated the effect of exercise therapy on neck pain, neck disability or other outcome measures and indicated some positive effects from exercise, but many studies lacked control groups not receiving active treatment. Studies on exercise that could be included in the random-effect meta-analysis showed significant short-term effects on neck pain and medium-term effects on neck disability. Outlook Despite a large number of articles published in the area of exercise therapy and Whiplash-Associated Disorders, the current evidence base is weak. The results from the present review with meta-analysis suggests that exercise therapy may provide additional effect for improvement of neck pain and disability in patients with Whiplash-Associated Disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Gustavo Allegretti João ◽  
Daniel Rodriguez ◽  
Lucas D. Tavares ◽  
Nelson Carvas Junior ◽  
Maria Luiza Miranda ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4;23 (7;4) ◽  
pp. 335-348
Author(s):  
Nicholas Van Halm-Lutterodt

Background: Chronic neck pain is reportedly considered the fourth leading cause of disability. Cervical interlaminar epidural injections are among the commonly administered nonsurgical interventions for managing chronic neck pain, secondary to disc herniation and radiculitis, spinal stenosis, or chronic neck pain of discogenic origin. Objectives: To systematically review the differences in the effectiveness of cervical epidural injections with local anesthetics with or without steroids for the management of chronic neck pain. Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared epidural injections with local anesthetic with or without steroids was performed, including a search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases for all years up to May 2019. Meta-analysis was done for pain relief based on the Numeric Rating Scale, functional status based on the Neck Disability Index, and opioid intake dosage. Results: Four studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 370 patients were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group received cervical epidural injection with steroid and local anesthetic, and the control group received injection with local anesthetic only. Regrading pain relief, no significant difference was observed between both groups (weighted mean difference [WMD], –0.006; 95% confidence interval (CI), –0.275 to 0.263; P = 0.963; I2 = 0.0% at 12 months). There was also no significant difference in the improvement of the functional status (WMD, 0.159; 95% CI, –1.231 to 1.549; P = 0.823; I2 = 9.8% at 12 months). Similarly, there was no significant difference in opioid dosage (WMD, –0.093; 95% CI, –5.952 to 5.766; P = 0.975; I2 = 0.0% at 12 months). Limitations: Only a few studies on this premise were found in the literature. There was also a lack of heterogeneity of the included RCT studies. Conclusions: The addition of steroids to anesthetic injectates was not associated with better pain and functional score outcomes compared with anesthetic injectate alone in patients with chronic neck pain. Key words: Chronic neck pain, cervical radiculopathy, cervical disc disease, spinal stenosis, facet joint pathology, cervical epidural injections, steroid injections, local anesthetic injections, systematic review, meta-analysis, randomized control trial


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