NCT04169646

Prevention and Intervention of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers

On-site Multi-component Intervention to Improve Productivity and Reduce the Economic and Personal Burden of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (actual)
• Sponsor: Zurich University of Applied Sciences · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study is the first that investigates the impact of a multi-component intervention combining current evidence of effective interventions with an adherence app to assess the potential benefits on productivity, neck pain, and headache.

Detailed description

Non-specific neck pain and headache are major economic and individual burdens in office-workers. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a multi-component intervention combining workstation ergonomics, health promotion information group workshops, neck exercises, and an app to enhance intervention adherence to assess possible reductions in the economic and individual burden of neck pain and headache in office workers. This study is a stepped wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial. Eligible participants will be any office-worker aged 18-65 years from two Swiss organisations in the Canton of Zurich and Canton of Aargau, working more than 25 hours a week in predominantly sedentary office work and without serious health conditions of the neck. 120 voluntary participants will be assigned to 15 clusters which, at randomly selected time steps, switch from the control to the intervention group. The intervention will last 12 weeks and comprises workstation ergonomics, health promotion information group workshops, neck exercises and an adherence app. The primary outcome will be health-related productivity losses (presenteeism, absenteeism) using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include neck disability and pain. Physical and health outcomes (e.g. Neck Disability Index, muscle strength, and endurance), psychosocial outcomes (e.g. job-stress index, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire), workplace outcomes (e.g. workstation ergonomics), and individual outcomes (e.g. socio-demographic data, adherence to intervention) will be assessed. Measurements will take place at baseline, 4 months, 8 months, 12 months, 16 months, and 28 months after commencement. Data will be analysed on an 'intention to treat' basis and per protocol. Primary and secondary outcomes will be examined using linear mixed-effects models. This study is the first that investigates the impact of a multi-component intervention combining current evidence of effective interventions with an adherence app to assess the potential benefits on productivity, neck pain, and headache. The outcomes will impact the individual, their workplace, as well as private and public policy by offering evidence for treatment and prevention of neck pain and headache in office-workers.

Conditions

• Neck Pain
• Headache
• Musculoskeletal Diseases
• Adherence, Patient
• Absenteeism
• Workplace
• Health Promotion
• Ergonomics
• Efficiency
• Presenteeism
• Occupational Health
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Adult
• Exercise Therapy
• Work Performance

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Multi-component intervention	Participants' workstation ergonomics will be assessed using an observation-based ergonomics assessment checklist for office-workers adapted to Swiss guidelines. Based on the initial assessment, best practice ergonomics will be applied individually using existing infrastructure. Participants will attend health promotion information group workshops for approximately one hour per week for 12 weeks. it. Participants will receive an individual progressive exercise programme aimed at conditioning the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle. The exercises will be performed in groups (maximum of ten per group) at the workplace in a dedicated room, for approximately one hour (3x20 minutes) per week; once per week supervised by a physiotherapist, a human movement scientist, or a health scientist, and twice per week individually. Workshop session attendance will be recorded as an indication of adherence to health promotion. Adherence to neck exercises will be recorded with the Physitrack® app.
OTHER	Control	No intervention takes place during the control phase.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-10-28
• Primary completion: 2022-07-31
• Completion: 2022-07-31
• First posted: 2019-11-20
• Last updated: 2023-03-22

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Switzerland