ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2012
Perceived physical exertion during healthcare work and prognosis for recovery from long-term pain in different body regions: Prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Prevention of low back pain and its consequences among nurses' aides in elderly care: a stepped-wedge multi-faceted cluster-randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 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
- Review
- 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
- Impact of a Safe Resident Handling Program in Nursing Homes on Return-to-Work and Re-injury Outcomes Following Work Injury.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2019Article
- Predictors of low back pain in nursing home workers after implementation of a safe resident handling programme.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2017Article
- Opting to wear prismatic spectacles was associated with reduced neck pain in dental personnel: a longitudinal cohort study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2016Article
- Associations between Wage System and Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorders among Construction Workers.Pain research and treatment · 2015Article
- Long-term persistence of knee pain and occupational exposure in two large prospective cohorts of workers.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2014Article
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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
backgroundThe prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is high among healthcare workers. Knowledge about risk factors at work is needed to efficiently target preventive strategies. This study estimates the prognosis for recovery from long-term musculoskeletal pain in different body regions among healthcare workers with different levels 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. We defined long-term pain, short-term pain and pain-free as > 30, 1-30 and 0 days with pain during the last year, and included in the analyses only those with long-term pain at baseline in the low back (N=1,089), neck/shoulder (N=1,400) and knees (N = 579), respectively. Using cumulative logistic regression analysis, the prognosis for recovering from long-term pain at baseline to short-term pain or pain-free at follow-up in the respective body regions when experiencing moderate or light (reference: strenuous) physical exertion during healthcare work was modeled.
resultsAmong those with long-term pain at baseline 34% (low back), 29% (neck/shoulders), and 29% (knees) recovered to short-term pain at follow-up and 7% (low back), 8% (neck/shoulders), and 17% (knees) recovered to being pain-free. After adjusting for potential confounders (age, BMI, tenure, smoking status, leisure physical activity and psychosocial work conditions), light perceived physical exertion during healthcare work was associated with improved prognosis for recovery from long-term pain in the low back (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.01 - 1.99) and neck/shoulders (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.43 - 2.50), but not in the knees. Moderate physical exertion was not associated with improved prognosis for recovery from long-term pain for any of the body regions.
conclusionIn the present study, healthcare workers with light perceived physical exertion during healthcare work had the best prognosis for recovery from long-term pain in the low back and neck/shoulders. This suggests that efforts to reduce perceived exertion during work may improve recovery from chronic pain.
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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.