SynthesisInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2020
Work above shoulder level and shoulder complaints: a systematic review.
Synthesis in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Can home care work be organized to promote musculoskeletal health for workers? Results from the GoldiCare cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Standardizing upper arm movement definitions across observational and sensor-based methods: A Delphi consensus study among European ergonomics experts.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
- Trunk and upper arm postures and movements among older workers in physically demanding occupations.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Grab Bar Grasp Location During Bathtub Exit and Sit-to-Stand Transfers: Biomechanical Evaluation.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2025Article
- Association between musculoskeletal pain and exposures to awkward postures during work: a compositional analysis approach.Annals of work exposures and health · 2024Article
- Influence of brick laying height on biomechanical load in masons: Cross-sectional field study with technical measurements.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Testing the association between shoulder pain prevalence and occupational, physical activity, and mental health factors in two generations of Australian adults.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2023Article
- Development and validation of a work-related risk score for upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders in a French working population.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Shoulder Tendinopathies and Occupational Biomechanical Overload: A Critical Appraisal of Available Evidence.La Medicina del lavoro · 2023Article
- Physical Work Demands of Maintenance Workers on Onshore Petroleum Facilities in Norway: An Observational Study Utilizing Wearable Sensor Technology.Annals of work exposures and health · 2023Observational
- Can home care work be organized to promote health among the workers while maintaining productivity? An investigation into stakeholders' perspectives on organizational work redesign concepts based on the Goldilocks Work principles.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- The Correlation of Frequency of Work-Related Disorders with Type of Work among Polish Employees.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Occupational demands associated with rotator cuff disease surgery in the UK Biobank.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Does occupational forward bending of the back increase long-term sickness absence risk? A 4-year prospective register-based study using device-measured compositional data analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Article
- Ergonomic and individual risk factors for musculoskeletal pain in the ageing workforce.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Associations between single and combined occupational mechanical exposures and surgery for subacromial impingement syndrome: a nationwide Danish cohort study.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Article
- Risk factors for shoulder disorders among French workers: prospective cohort study.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2022Article
- Gender Differences in Associations between Biomechanical and Psychosocial Work Exposures and Age of Withdrawal from Paid Employment among Older Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- How does accelerometry-measured arm elevation at work influence prospective risk of long-term sickness absence?Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the association and the exposure-response relationship between work above shoulder height and shoulder pain or disorders.
methodsA systematic search was performed in Medline, Embase, and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. Included were articles with prospective cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, or intervention study designs. Quality assessment was based on an evaluation scheme adjusted to study design and normalized to 100%. The cut-off for sufficient quality to include articles was above 40% and cut-off for high-quality articles was above 50% of maximal score. The level of strength of evidence for an association between exposure and effect was assessed according to the GRADE guidelines.
resultsThirty-four articles were included. Articles that document large effects (higher risk estimates; OR ≥ 2) have higher quality score, include analyses of severe arm elevation, more often use clinical outcome, and report an exposure-response relationship compared to studies reporting lower risk estimates. The studies that reported large effects were all significant. An exposure-response relationship was found in many high-quality studies when relating exposure intensity of arm elevation (level of arm elevation, amplitude) as well as duration of arm elevation, especially > 90°.
conclusionWe conclude on a limited evidence for an association between arm elevation at work and shoulder disorders. Severe arm elevation with elbows above shoulder level (i.e., > 90°) shows a moderate evidence for an association with shoulder disorders.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.