ArticlePloS one2017
Physical activity level at work and risk of chronic low back pain: A follow-up in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Occupational mechanical exposures as risk factor for chronic low-back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Pooled it
- Leisure-time physical activity and low back pain in Switzerland: results from the 2022 cross-sectional Swiss Health Survey.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior with chronic low back pain in middle-aged and older adults: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Machine Learning Techniques for Identifying Lifestyle Factors Associated With Low Back Pain in Adults Aged 50 and Older Using Data From the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Nursing & health sciences · 2025Article
- Altered proprioceptive weighting and trunk muscle activation in individuals with recurrent low back pain: a cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- The leisure time and occupational physical activity paradox in persistent musculoskeletal pain.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Association of Health-Related Quality of Life and Pain Medication Perception Among Chronic Low Back Pain Patients at Tertiary Care Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Association of 24-h movement behaviors during Covid-19 pandemic with spinal musculoskeletal disorders in undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Overweight and obesity as risk factors for chronic low back pain: a new follow-up in the HUNT Study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The "sweet- and sour-spot" of occupational physical activity for back pain: a prospective accelerometer study among eldercare workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and determinants of low back pain among residents in Abha City, Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Increased Duration and Intensity of Physical Activity Are Associated With Increased Pain in Individuals With Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2024Observational
- Risk Factors for Chronic Lower Back Pain among Older Workers: A Prospective Cohort Study.Physical therapy research · 2024Article
- The one-week prevalence of neck pain and low back pain in post-secondary students at two Canadian institutions.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2023Article
- Low Back Pain and Upper-Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders in French Postal Workers Driving Light-Duty Vehicles for Mail and Parcel Delivery.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Women's Health and Working Life: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The impact of different intensities and domains of physical activity on analgesic use and activity limitation in people with low back pain: A prospective cohort study with a one-year followup.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2022Article
- Neck and back pain: Differences between patients treated in primary and specialist health care.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2022Article
- Are leisure-time and work-related activities associated with low back pain during pregnancy?BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical activity in leisure time seems to reduce the risk of low back pain, but it is not known whether occupational activity, as recorded in a representative working population, produces a higher or lower risk.
objectiveTo study associations between physical activity level at work and risk of chronic low back pain.
methodsAssociations were examined in a Norwegian prospective study using data from the HUNT2 and HUNT3 surveys carried out in the whole county of Nord-Trøndelag. Participants were 7580 women and 7335 men who supplied information about physical activity level at work. Levels considered were sedentary work, work involving walking but no heavy lifting, work involving walking and heavy lifting, and particularly strenuous physical work. Nobody in the cohort was affected by chronic low back pain at baseline. After 11 years, participants reported whether they suffered from chronic low back pain. Generalized linear modelling with adjustment for potential confounders was applied to assess associations with risk factors.
resultsIn age-adjusted analyses both women and men showed statistically significant associations between physical activity at work and risk of chronic low back pain, suggesting positive relationships. For particularly strenuous physical work the relative risk of chronic low back pain was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.00-1.71) in women and 1.36 (95% CI 1.17-1.59) in men, compared to sedentary work. Women still showed a general association with activity level after adjustment for education, leisure time physical activity, BMI, smoking and occupational category. In men, the higher risk was only maintained for particularly strenuous work.
conclusionIn this cohort, women had a higher risk of chronic low back pain with work involving walking and heavy lifting or particularly strenuous work, compared to sedentary work. Men participating in particularly strenuous work also experienced a higher risk of chronic low back pain.
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Registered trials
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