ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2014
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.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical activity at work may not be health enhancing. A systematic review with meta-analysis on the association between occupational physical activity and cardiovascular disease mortality covering 23 studies with 655 892 participants.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Pooled it
- Convergent Validity of Ratings of Perceived Exertion During Resistance Exercise in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of work pace on cardiorespiratory outcomes, perceived effort and carried load in industrial workers: a randomised cross-over trial.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2024Trial
- Effects of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention With Wearable Technical Measurements of Physical Workload in the Construction Industry: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Trial
- Participatory organizational intervention for improved use of assistive devices for patient transfer: study protocol for a single-blinded cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2016Trial
- Associations between biopsychosocial factors and chronic upper limb pain among slaughterhouse workers: cross sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2016Trial
- Participatory intervention with objectively measured physical risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in the construction industry: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2015Trial
- Perceived physical exertion in senior workers performing heavy manual tasks.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Transient and Long-Term Risks of Common Physical Activities in People With Low Back Pain.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Reorganization of work schedules for better distribution of work demands in home health care - a feasibility study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Enhancing physical fitness using recreational soccer and basketball: A parallel-controlled 8-week study involving overweight and obese individuals, with consideration of sex-related interactions.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Impact of Fatigue on Ergonomic Risk Scores and Foot Kinetics: A Field Study Employing Inertial and In-Shoe Plantar Pressure Measurement Devices.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Exploring Optimal Objective Function Weightings to Predict Lifting Postures Under Unfatigued and Fatigued States.Human factors · 2024Article
- Influence of brick laying height on biomechanical load in masons: Cross-sectional field study with technical measurements.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Sustainability and perceptual responses during handgrip holds to failure at two fatigue thresholds.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Article
- Re: Cillekens B, Huysmans MA, Holtermann A, van Mechelen W, Straker L, Krause N, van der Beek AJ, Coenen P. Physical activity at work may not be health enhancing. A systematic review with meta-analysis on the association between occupational physical activity and cardiovascular disease mortality covering 23 studies with 655 892 participants. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2022;48(2):86-98. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3993.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Musculoskeletal disorders and incongruous postures in workers on ropes: A pilot study.Journal of public health research · 2023Article
- The Flares of Low back pain with Activity Research Study (FLAReS): study protocol for a case-crossover study nested within a cohort study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Observational
- The Importance of Lifting Height and Load Mass for Muscular Workload during Supermarket Stocking: Cross-Sectional Field Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- An Exploratory Study on the Physical Activity Health Paradox-Musculoskeletal Pain and Cardiovascular Load during Work and Leisure in Construction and Healthcare Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo investigate associations between perceived exertion and objectively assessed muscular and cardiovascular load during a full working day among workers with manual lifting tasks.
methodsA total of 159 men and 41 women from 14 workplaces with manual lifting tasks participated. Participants reported perceived exertion (BORG-CR10) at midday and after work. Surface electromyography of the thigh, lower back and neck muscles were normalized to isometric voluntary contractions (MVC) to express relative muscle load during the day. Cardiovascular load was measured with electrocardiography and calculated as the average percentage of the heart rate reserve capacity (((heart rate during work - resting heart rate) / (maximum heart rate - resting heart rate)) * 100) during the day.
resultsUsing linear regression, significant but weak associations (β < 0.23) were observed between perceived exertion and (1) high muscle activity (>60% of MVC) of the neck muscles and (2) inactivity (<1% of MVC) of the thigh muscles and (3) cardiovascular load, respectively. Using logistic regression, perceived exertion ≥4 (high exertion), referencing <4 (low-to-moderate exertion), was related to high activity of the trapezius muscle [OR 18 (95% CI 2-143)], i.e., the odds for experiencing high exertion during work increased 18-fold for each percentage increase in time above 60% MVC.
conclusionsDuring a full working day among blue-collar workers with lifting tasks, high neck muscle activity increases the odds for experiencing high perceived physical exertion. Perceived exertion of at least 4 on the BORG CR10 scale appears to be a good indicator that high muscular loading occurs.
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