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Effects of Whole-Body Stretching Exercise during Lunch Break for Reducing Musculoskeletal Pain and Physical Exertion among Healthcare Professionals.
Alqhtani, RS, Ahmed, H, Alshahrani, A, Khan, AR, Khan, A
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). 2023;59(5)
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The occurrence of muscle pain in healthcare workers has been attributed to the conditions within which they are working, mainly the load and physical effort that accompanies handling patients and prolonged awkward working postures. Back, neck, shoulder and hand pain have all been reported. Treatments have been extensively studied; however, few provide long-term benefits. Strength exercise and stretching during work hours has been proposed as a therapy and this randomised control trial of 60 healthcare professionals aimed to determine the effect of whole-body stretching (WBS) during rest breaks at work. The results showed that pain in the lower back, neck and knee were most reported by healthcare professions. By attending three 30-minute stretching exercise classes per week participants experienced less muscle pain and used less effort when performing a variety of job associated tasks. It was concluded that stretching during work time may improve feelings of muscle pain in healthcare professionals, however more large-scale research is warranted to confirm these findings. This study could be used by healthcare professionals to recommend stretching exercise to other healthcare workers and to those who perform manual jobs.
Abstract
Background and Objectives: To investigate the effect of whole-body stretching (WBS) exercise during lunch break for reducing musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion among healthcare professionals. Methods: Full-time healthcare professionals working in hospitals with more than one year of experience were invited to participate. Sixty healthcare professionals (age 37.15 ± 3.9 Years, height 1.61 ± 0.04 m, body mass 67.8 ± 6.3 kg, and BMI 26.5 ± 2.1 kg/m2) participated in this single-blinded, two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants were divided into WBS (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. The WBS group performed a range of stretching exercises targeting the entire body during a lunch break period for 3 times a week for 6 weeks. The control group received an education program. Musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion were assessed using the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and Borg rating of perceived exertion scale, respectively. Results: The 12-month prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort among all healthcare professionals was highest in the low back region (46.7%), followed by the neck (43.3%), and then the knee (28.3%). About 22% of participants said that their neck discomfort impacted their job, while about 18% reported that their low back pain impacted their job. Results indicate that the WBS and education program had a beneficial impact on pain and physical exertion (p < 0.001). When comparing the two groups, the WBS group experienced a significantly greater decrease in pain intensity (mean difference 3.6 vs. 2.5) and physical exertion (mean difference 5.6 vs. 4.0) compared to an education program only. Conclusions: This study suggests that doing WBS exercises during lunchtime can help lessen musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, making it easier to get through the workday.
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The effect of exercise on anxiety in the elderly worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kazeminia, M, Salari, N, Vaisi-Raygani, A, Jalali, R, Abdi, A, Mohammadi, M, Daneshkhah, A, Hosseinian-Far, M, Shohaimi, S
Health and quality of life outcomes. 2020;18(1):363
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Anxiety occurs in all age groups. In the US 15-52% of the elderly have anxiety related symptoms and these tend to manifest as physical problems such as insomnia, behavioural, sensory, urinary, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal disorders. The elderly are more prone to anxiety due to loss or reduction of self-esteem, reduction of activity and stimulation, loss of friends and relatives, loss of physical independence, chronic diseases, changes in daily life or living environment, fear of death and lack of social support. Physical activity is a simple, cheap therapeutic approach. There are several preliminary studies on the effect of exercise training on reducing anxiety in the elderly, but there are inconsistencies between their results. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to resolve such inconsistencies. This meta-analysis included 19 studies published from 1999 until December 2019. Results of this study showed that sport significantly reduces anxiety in the elderly. Therefore, a regular exercise plan can be considered as a part of the elderly care program.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Physical activity and exercise are among the most important, simplest, and cheapest approaches to anxiety treatment, especially for the elderly. Their positive effects on improvement of mental disorders in the elderly have attracted a considerable level of attention. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of sport on reducing anxiety in the elderly using meta-analysis. METHODS In this study, national and international databases of SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Cochrane, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched to find studies published electronically from 1999 to 2019. Heterogeneity between the collected studies was determined using the Cochran's test (Q) and I2. Due to presence of heterogeneity, the random effects model was used to estimate the standardized mean difference of sport test scores obtained from the measurement of anxiety reduction among the elderly, between the intervention group before and after the test. RESULTS In this meta-analysis and systematic review, 19 papers finally met the inclusion criteria. The overall sample size of all collected studies for the meta-analysis was 841 s. Mean anxiety score before and after intervention were 38.7 ± 5.6 33.7 ± 3.4 respectively, denoting a decrease in anxiety score after intervention. CONCLUSION Results of this study indicates that Sport significantly reduces Anxiety in the Elderly. Therefore, a regular exercise program can be considered as a part of the elderly care program.