Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Health and Human Performance, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA
  • 3 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
  • 4 Academic Development Center (ADeC), University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia
Work, 2017;56(3):421-428.
PMID: 28269804 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-172508

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research support the claim that people who work in offices and sit for a long time are particularly prone to musculoskeletal disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this paper is to introduce an exercise training program designed to decrease muscle stiffness and pain that can be performed in the office setting.

METHODS: Forty healthy office workers (age: 28±5.3 years old; body mass: 87.2±10.2 kg; height: 1.79±0.15 m) apart from suffering from any sub-clinical symptoms of muscle and joint stiffness, and who had at least two years of experience in office work were chosen and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). The experimental group performed the exercise training program three times a week for 11 weeks. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to measure the pain levels in the neck, shoulders, and lower back areas. The Borg CR-10 Scale was used to measure their perceived exertion when doing the exercises, and a goniometer was used to measure the changes in range of motion (ROM) of the neck, hips, knees, and shoulders.

RESULTS: The overall results indicated that the exercise program could significantly (p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.