The Role of Physical Exercise in the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Manual Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors

  • Valentina Bullo Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Francesco Favro Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Davide Pavan GymHub S.r.l., Spin-off of the University of Padova
  • Alessandro Bortoletto Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Stefano Gobbo Università degli Studi di Padova
  • Giuseppe De Palma Università degli studi di Brescia
  • Stefano Mattioli Università degli Studi di Ferrara
  • Emma Sala University Hospital ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia
  • Lucia Cugusi Università degli Studi di Sassari
  • Andrea Di Blasio Università degli Studi 'G. d'Annunzio' Chieti - Pescara
  • David C. Cruz-Diaz University of Jaén
  • Danilo Sales Bocalini Universida-Federal do Espirito Santo
  • Marco Bergamin Università degli Studi di Padova

Keywords:

Occupational disease, workplace intervention, pain and disability, physical training

Abstract

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the most common occupational health problem in the European Union. Physical exercise interventions have been investigated in the prevention of WMSDs in many sectors. Therefore, our aim was to assess the effect of physical exercise in manual workers for the primary and secondary prevention of WMSDs. We conducted a systematic search of the literature and papers were included if: the participants were adult employees exclusively engaged in manual labor tasks; non-acute physical exercise intervention; pain, disability, physical functioning, or health-related quality of life outcome, with pre-post intervention measurements. We retrieved 10419 unique records and included 23 studies. A random effect meta-analysis was conducted on the studies with a control group design, using a three level model to estimate the pooled effect for pain outcomes (g = 0.4339, 95% CI : 0.1267 – 0.7412, p < 0.01), and a two-level model for disability outcomes (g = 0.6279, 95% CI : 0.3983 – 0.8575, p < 0.0001). Subset analysis revealed a moderate-to-large effect on the VAS outcome (g = 0.5866, 95% CI: 0.3102 – 0.8630, p < 0.0001). Meta-regression on pain outcomes revealed a significant effect for sex, age, study quality, and body segments tested. The analyses on all outcomes except VAS showed substantial heterogeneity (I2pain = 93%, of which 72% at the study level, I2disability = 78%, and I2vas = 56%, of which 44% at the study level). Physical exercise programs seem to have a positive effect on pain and disability stemming from WRMSDs in manual workers.

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Published

22-02-2024

Issue

Section

Reviews, Commentaries, Perspectives

How to Cite

1.
Bullo V, Favro F, Pavan D, Bortoletto A, Gobbo S, De Palma G, et al. The Role of Physical Exercise in the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Manual Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Med Lav [Internet]. 2024 Feb. 22 [cited 2024 Jul. 26];115(1):e2024008. Available from: https://mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/lamedicinadellavoro/article/view/15404