Effects of a Family Caregiver Care Programme in Musculoskeletal Pain and Disability in the Shoulder-Neck Region—A Randomised Clinical Trial

Rocío Llamas-Ramos, Laura Barrero-Santiago, Inés Llamas-Ramos () and Federico Montero-Cuadrado
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Rocío Llamas-Ramos: Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Universidad de Salamanca, Avda. Donantes de Sangre s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Laura Barrero-Santiago: Department of Cell Biology, Genetics, Histology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valladolid, Avda. Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005 Valladolid, Spain
Inés Llamas-Ramos: Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Universidad de Salamanca, Avda. Donantes de Sangre s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Federico Montero-Cuadrado: Unit for Active Coping Strategies for Pain in Primary Care, East-Valladolid Primary Care Management, Castilla and Leon Public Health System (Sacyl), 47011 Valladolid, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Life expectancy in Spain has increased and older people need more health care to improve their quality of life. The high demands of the population sometimes collapse health services, making them insufficient to cover their needs, which leads to the development of “non-professional caregivers”. These caregivers have suffered musculoskeletal injuries of the cervical spine and shoulders and should be guided and assessed on ergonomics, biomechanics, or kinesiotherapy. However, there are no interventions to help them care for themselves. This study presents the application of a physical exercise programme to prevent these disorders in women caregivers of dependent patients. It consists of a randomised controlled clinical trial with two groups: both received a family caregiver care programme, and the intervention group also received a physical therapeutic exercise programme for 12 weeks. A total of 62 caregivers completed the study, who were mostly daughters or wives of dependents. Of these, 70.97% presented a “moderate” pain intensity and a cervical disability of 13.72 ± 7.64 points in the NDI questionnaire in the initial evaluation. In the intervention group of caregivers, there was a significant decrease in the pain intensity and a significant increase ( p < 0.05) in all cervical joint amplitude movements. Caregivers present a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The physical exercise programme was effective in reducing the intensity of pain, lumbar disability, and cervical disability of the family caregivers.

Keywords: caregivers; exercise programme; musculoskeletal pain; neck pain; quality of life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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