ArticleInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2013
Perceived physical exertion during healthcare work and risk of chronic pain in different body regions: prospective cohort study.
Article in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Distribution and prevalence of musculoskeletal pain co-occurring with persistent low back pain: a systematic review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Psychosocial benefits of workplace physical exercise: cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2017Trial
- Effect of Workplace- versus Home-Based Physical Exercise on Muscle Response to Sudden Trunk Perturbation among Healthcare Workers: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.BioMed research international · 2015Trial
- Participatory ergonomic intervention versus strength training on chronic pain and work disability in slaughterhouse workers: study protocol for a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2013Trial
- Occupational physical demands in eldercare workers: a systematic scoping review of studies reporting quantitative data.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Differences in the temporal patterns of occupational time on feet and sitting between homecare and nursing home workers.Annals of work exposures and health · 2025Article
- Work-Related Fear-Avoidance Beliefs and Risk of Low-Back Pain: Prospective Cohort Study Among Healthcare Workers.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Work-Related Low Back Pain and Psychological Distress Among Physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Focus group-supported development and psychometric exploration of an instrument to assess perceived physical exertion in nursing students.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- Risk Factors for Chronic Lower Back Pain among Older Workers: A Prospective Cohort Study.Physical therapy research · 2024Article
- Evaluating the Effect of Supported Systematic Work Environment Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Musculoskeletal pain intensity in different body regions and risk of disability pension among female eldercare workers: prospective cohort study with 11-year register follow-up.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Review
- Combined Effects of Physical Behavior Compositions and Psychosocial Resources on Perceived Exertion Among Eldercare Workers.Annals of work exposures and health · 2020Article
- Association Between Physical Activity and Odds of Chronic Conditions Among Workers in Spain.Preventing chronic disease · 2020Article
- Influence of physical and psychosocial working conditions for the risk of disability pension among healthy female eldercare workers: Prospective cohort.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2020Article
- Pain complaints are associated with quick returns and insomnia among Norwegian nurses, but do not differ between shift workers and day only workers.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2020Article
- Association between Psychosocial Working Conditions and Perceived Physical Exertion among Eldercare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Multilevel Analysis of Nursing Homes, Wards and Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Associations between Wage System and Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorders among Construction Workers.Pain research and treatment · 2015Article
- Is Borg's perceived exertion scale a useful indicator of muscular and cardiovascular load in blue-collar workers with lifting tasks? A cross-sectional workplace study.European journal of applied physiology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo estimate the risk of developing chronic musculoskeletal pain in different body regions from varying degrees of perceived physical exertion during healthcare work.
methodsProspective cohort study among 4,977 Danish female healthcare workers responding to a baseline and follow-up questionnaire in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Using multi-adjusted logistic regression analysis, the risk of developing chronic pain (>30 days last year) at follow-up in the low back, neck/shoulder, and knees-among those without pain (0 days last year) in these respective body regions at baseline-from moderate and strenuous (reference: light) perceived physical exertion during healthcare work was modeled.
resultsAdjusted for age, BMI, tenure, smoking status, and leisure physical activity, strenuous perceived physical exertion during healthcare work increased the risk of chronic low back pain (OR 3.16, 95 % CI 1.79-5.57) and chronic knee pain (OR 1.87, 95 % CI 1.19-2.94) at follow-up among those without pain in these respective body regions at baseline. With additional adjustment for psychosocial work conditions, only the risk of developing chronic low back pain from strenuous physical exertion remained significant (OR 1.99, 95 % CI 1.02-3.88). Strenuous physical exertion was not a risk factor for chronic neck pain, and moderate physical exertion was not a risk factor for chronic pain in any of the body regions.
conclusionStrenuous perceived physical exertion during healthcare work is a risk factor especially for developing chronic pain in the low back. The possible preventive effect of reducing strenuous physical exertion should be tested in randomized controlled trials.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.