Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34587662›Full record

Trial reportJournal of occupational health2021

Effect of pain neuroscience education and exercise on presenteeism and pain intensity in health care workers: A randomized controlled trial.

Ryota Imai, Takashi Konishi, Akira Mibu, Katsuyoshi Tanaka, Tomohiko Nishigami

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of occupational health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Workplace Mental Health Programs for Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ryota ImaiSchool of Rehabilitation, Osaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University, Kaizuka, Osaka, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0276-6419
Takashi KonishiKaiseikai Medical Corporation, Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
Akira MibuDepartment of Physical Therapy, Konan Women's University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Katsuyoshi TanakaDepartment of Rehabilitation, Tanabe Orthopaedics, Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
Tomohiko NishigamiDepartment of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health and Welfare, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Mihara, Hiroshima, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6969-8916
Konan Women's University · JPOsaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University · JPPrefectural University of Hiroshima · JP

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI(20K10409)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesDecreased workforce productivity has a significant economic impact on healthcare systems. Presenteeism, the practice of working at reduced potential, is more harmful than absenteeism. Present workers most often experience musculoskeletal pain that is not mitigated by general exercise or stretching. We aimed to assess whether a regimen of pain neuroscience education (PNE) and exercise tailored to individual healthcare workers could reduce presenteeism and improve productivity.

methodsAn independent investigator randomized 104 medical professionals into two groups (intervention and control). The control group received general feedback after answering a questionnaire, while the intervention group received a 6-month plan of exercises and PNE created by a physical therapist with 10 years of experience. Our primary outcome was the scores of the Japanese version of the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (WHO-HPQ) to investigate presenteeism; and our secondary outcomes were pain intensity, widespread pain index (WPI), and EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ5D-5L).

resultsIn the intervention group, post intervention, we observed significant improvement in presenteeism, pain intensity, WPI, physical and psychological stress, and EQ5D-5L (P < .05). In the control group, we noted significant improvement only in the physical and psychological stress post intervention (P < .05). The results showed significant between-group differences in presenteeism post-intervention (P < .05).

conclusionWe demonstrated that a combination of PNE and exercise decreases presenteeism of healthcare workers. Our findings will help healthcare facilities carry out better employee management and ensure optimal productivity.

Indexed as

ExercisePresenteeismAdultAgedFemaleHealth PersonnelHealth PromotionHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedMusculoskeletal PainPatient Education as TopicSurveys and QuestionnairesWork PerformanceWorkplaceexerciseoccupational rehabilitationpain neuroscience educationpresenteeismrandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID34587662
PMCPMC8481006
OpenAlexW3201890103

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.