Effect of a Long Exercise Program in the Reduction of Musculoskeletal Discomfort in Office Workers

Alberto Villanueva, Juan Rabal-Pelay, César Berzosa, Héctor Gutiérrez, Cristina Cimarras-Otal, Belén Lacarcel-Tejero and A. Vanessa Bataller-Cervero
Additional contact information
Alberto Villanueva: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Juan Rabal-Pelay: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
César Berzosa: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Héctor Gutiérrez: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Cristina Cimarras-Otal: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
Belén Lacarcel-Tejero: Hospital MAZ, Av. Academia Gral. Militar, 74, 50015 Zaragoza, Spain
A. Vanessa Bataller-Cervero: Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Autov. A-23 Zaragoza - Huesca, Km 299, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-10

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a six week exercise program to reduce the muscle tone of the trapezius and musculoskeletal discomfort (MED) of office workers. Twenty-six workers performed an exercise program based on: (1) stretching of cervical and/or dorsal region; (2) joint mobility of shoulders and rachis; (3) strengthening deep stabilizer and core muscles; and (4) scapula stabilizing exercises. A Myoton device was used to evaluate trapezius tone and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to assess changes in MED at three points of evaluation: at the beginning (Pre_1) and at the end of the workday (Post_1), and after the training program (Pre_2). The Wilcoxon test and Cohen’s d were performed to examine differences and effect sizes between evaluations. Main results show that trapezius tone remained constant during the workday, but decreased in the dominant upper trapezius ( p = 0.003, ES = −0.60) and increased in the non-dominant middle trapezius ( p = 0.016, ES = 0.45) after the exercise program, which eliminated significant muscle asymmetries. MED significantly decreased in the neck ( p = 0.027, ES = −0.60) and upper back ( p = 0.046, ES = −0.67). In conclusion, MED appears to improve in office workers after a six week training program, which may be explained by a decrease in trapezius tone and increase in the left middle trapezius tone.

Keywords: muscle tone; workplace; trapezius; shoulder; neck; upper back; lower back (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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