Trial reportScandinavian journal of work, environment & health2021
Effects of an active break and postural shift intervention on preventing neck and low-back pain among high-risk office workers: a 3-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Work-break interventions for preventing musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders in healthy workers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of the active break intervention on nonspecific low back pain among young people: a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of a dynamic seat cushion on recovery and recurrence of neck and low back pain in office workers: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Trial
- The effectiveness of a dynamic seat cushion in preventing neck and low-back pain among high-risk office workers: a 6-month cluster-randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of Scapular Functional and Cervical Isometric Exercises in the Management of Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain: A Randomized Comparative Trial.Pain research & management · 2024Trial
- Intraoperative active and passive breaks during minimally invasive surgery influence upper extremity physical strain and physical stress response-A controlled, randomized cross-over, laboratory trial.Surgical endoscopy · 2023Trial
- Interrupting sedentary behaviour in the workplace through active breaks: a protocol study.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2026Article
- Viewing low back pain through the lens of spinal evolution: Understanding the morphology and limits of the human spine.PloS one · 2026Article
- Neck and Low Back Pain in China and Globally: Divergent Trends Among Women of Reproductive Age-An Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023.Orthopedic research and reviews · 2026Article
- Low back pain among the working-age population: from the global burden of disease study 2021.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Exploring the clinical utility of postural outcome tools for back and neck pain clinical outcomes: a systematic scoping review.F1000Research · 2025Article
- Disease Burden of Neck Pain in China from 1990 to 2021 and Its Prediction for 2042: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- What have we learned about risk assessment and interventions to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders and support work participation?Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Review
- The Effect of an Active Break Intervention on Nonspecific Low Back Pain and Musculoskeletal Discomfort during Prolonged Sitting among Young People-Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Relationship between physical activity and locomotive syndrome among young and middle-aged Japanese workers.Journal of occupational health · 2024Article
- Effects of head alignment devices on working memory and postural support during computer work.PloS one · 2024Article
- Effectiveness rehabilitative therapy and Pridinol Mesylate in low back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Hybrid office work in women and men: do directly measured physical behaviors differ between days working from home and days working at the office?Annals of work exposures and health · 2023Article
- Sedentary lifestyle of university students is detrimental to the thoracic spine in men and to the lumbar spine in women.PloS one · 2023Article
- The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Neck Pain among Ministry of Health Office Workers in Saudi Arabia: A Cross Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
4 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study evaluated the effects of the promotion of active breaks and postural shifts on new onset of neck and low-back pain during a 6-month follow-up among high-risk office workers.
methodsA 3-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial with 6-month follow-up was conducted among healthy but high-risk office workers. Participants were recruited from six organizations in Bangkok, Thailand (N=193) and randomly assigned at cluster level into active break intervention (N=47), postural shift intervention (N=46), and control (N=100) groups. Participants in the intervention groups received a custom-designed apparatus to facilitate designated active breaks and postural shifts during work. Participants in the control group received a placebo seat pad. The primary outcome measure was new onset of neck and low-back pain during 6-month follow-up. Analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard models.
resultsOne-hundred and eighty-six (96%) predominantly female participants were successfully followed up over six months. New onset of neck pain during the 6-month follow-up occurred in 17%, 17%, and 44% of the participants in the active break, postural shift, and control groups, respectively. For new onset of low-back pain, these percentages were 9%, 7%, and 33%, respectively. Hazard rate (HR) ratios after adjusting for biopsychosocial factors indicated a protective effect of the active break and postural shift interventions for neck pain [HRadj 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20-0.98 for active break and HRadj 0.41, 95% CI 0.18-0.94 for postural shift] and low-back pain (HRadj 0.34, 95% CI 0.12-0.98 for active break and HRadj 0.19, 95% CI 0.06-0.66 for postural shift).
conclusionInterventions to increase either active breaks or postural shifts reduced new onset of neck and low-back pain among high-risk office workers.
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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.