Prevention and Intervention of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers

NCT04169646 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 32003B_182389
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 120
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

This study is the first that investigates the impact of a multi-component intervention combining current evidence of effective interventions with an adherence app to assess the potential benefits on productivity, neck pain, and headache.

Conditions

Neck Pain; Headache; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Adherence, Patient; Absenteeism; Workplace; Health Promotion; Ergonomics; Efficiency; Presenteeism; Occupational Health; Surveys and Questionnaires; Adult; Exercise Therapy; Work Performance

Keywords

office-worker; neck-specific exercises; stepped wedge design; productivity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in NP-related productivity loss

  Change in NP-related productivity loss will be measured in percentages of the working time, using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire for Specific Health Problem (WPAI German version) and converted into monetary units using individual earnings. Absenteeism is assessed by asking the participants about the number of hours missed because of NP as well as the number of hours they have actually worked. To assess presenteeism, the participants are asked to indicate on a 10-score scale how much the NP affected productivity while working, with 0 indicating no effect on productivity and 10 indicating total disability. Scoring rules of the developers of the questionnaire will then be used to obtain self-reported absenteeism and presenteeism expressed as impairment percentages. The monetary value for the lost productivity will be obtained for each individual by multiplying the impairment percentages by the individual gross wage.

  change from baseline at 16 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Neck pain

  change from baseline at 16 months

• Neck Disability Index

  change from baseline at 16 months

Other Outcomes (21)

• Physical activity level

  baseline, after 4 months, after 8 months, after 12 months, after 16 months, after 28 months

• Health related Quality of life

  baseline, after 4 months, after 8 months, after 12 months, after 16 months, after 28 months

• Job-Stress-Index

  baseline, after 4 months, after 8 months, after 12 months, after 16 months, after 28 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

OTHER

Multi-component intervention

Other: Multi-component intervention

Control

OTHER

Control

Other: Control

Interventions

Multi-component intervention OTHER

Participants' workstation ergonomics will be assessed using an observation-based ergonomics assessment checklist for office-workers adapted to Swiss guidelines. Based on the initial assessment, best practice ergonomics will be applied individually using existing infrastructure. Participants will attend health promotion information group workshops for approximately one hour per week for 12 weeks. it. Participants will receive an individual progressive exercise programme aimed at conditioning the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle. The exercises will be performed in groups (maximum of ten per group) at the workplace in a dedicated room, for approximately one hour (3x20 minutes) per week; once per week supervised by a physiotherapist, a human movement scientist, or a health scientist, and twice per week individually. Workshop session attendance will be recorded as an indication of adherence to health promotion. Adherence to neck exercises will be recorded with the Physitrack® app.

Also known as: Workstation Ergonomics, Health promotion, Neck exercise, Adherence to intervention

Intervention

Control OTHER

No intervention takes place during the control phase.

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Swiss office-workers, who suffer from NP or want to take prevention of neck pain or headache
• years old
• working more than 25 hours per week (0.6 full-time equivalent) in predominantly sedentary office work
• be able to communicate in German (written, spoken)
• have provided written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• previous trauma or injuries to the neck (NP grade 4)
• specific diagnosed pathologies (e.g., congenital cervical abnormalities, stenosis, fracture, radiculopathy)
• inflammatory condition (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis)
• any history of cervical spine surgery
• if exercise is contraindicated (e.g., medical advice, own beliefs)
• prolonged absence from work (more than four consecutive weeks) during the study intervention period
• pregnant women

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Zurich University of Applied Sciences: lead
• Swiss National Science Foundation: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Kanton Aargau, Departement Bau, Verkehr und Umwelt

Aarau, 5001, Switzerland

Location

ZHAW

Winterthur, 8400, Switzerland

Location

Related Publications (7)

• Marchenko M, Domingues L, Barbero M, Cescon C, Falla D, Ernst MJ; NEXpro collaboration group. Headache, not neck pain, primarily influences the extent of pain in the neck region in symptomatic office workers. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluations. Physiother Theory Pract. 2025 Dec 12:1-11. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2025.2596179. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 41384674 DERIVED

• Ernst MJ, Meichtry A, Luedtke K; NEXpro collaboration group; Falla D. Effects of neck-exercise and health promotion on headache outcomes in office workers: secondary analysis of the NEXpro stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. J Headache Pain. 2025 Feb 12;26(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s10194-025-01963-y.

  PMID: 39939850 DERIVED

• Brunner B, Aegerter AM, Johnston V, Volken T, Deforth M, Sjogaard G, Elfering A, Melloh M; NEXpro Collaboration Group. Cost-utility and cost-benefit analysis of a multi-component intervention (NEXpro) for neck-related symptoms in Swiss office workers. BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 15;25(1):160. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-21103-6.

  PMID: 39815202 DERIVED

• Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Volken T, Johnston V, Luomajoki H, Dressel H, Dratva J, Ernst MJ, Distler O, Brunner B, Sjogaard G, Melloh M, Elfering A; NEXpro Collaboration Group. A Multi-component Intervention (NEXpro) Reduces Neck Pain-Related Work Productivity Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Swiss Office Workers. J Occup Rehabil. 2023 Jun;33(2):288-300. doi: 10.1007/s10926-022-10069-0. Epub 2022 Sep 27.

  PMID: 36167936 DERIVED

• Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Johnston V, Sjogaard G, Volken T, Luomajoki H, Dratva J, Dressel H, Distler O, Elfering A, Melloh M; NEXpro collaboration group. No evidence for an effect of working from home on neck pain and neck disability among Swiss office workers: Short-term impact of COVID-19. Eur Spine J. 2021 Jun;30(6):1699-1707. doi: 10.1007/s00586-021-06829-w. Epub 2021 Apr 4.

  PMID: 33817763 DERIVED

• Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Sjogaard G, Johnston V, Volken T, Luomajoki H, Dratva J, Dressel H, Distler O, Melloh M, Elfering A; NEXpro Collaboration Group. No Evidence for a Decrease in Physical Activity Among Swiss Office Workers During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study. Front Psychol. 2021 Feb 11;12:620307. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.620307. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 33688857 DERIVED

• Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Johnston V, Ernst MJ, Volken T, Luomajoki H, Brunner B, Dratva J, Sjogaard G, Elfering A, Melloh M; NEXpro collaboration group. On-site multi-component intervention to improve productivity and reduce the economic and personal burden of neck pain in Swiss office-workers (NEXpro): protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2020 Jun 19;21(1):391. doi: 10.1186/s12891-020-03388-x.

  PMID: 32560714 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain; Headache; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Patient Compliance

Interventions

Health Promotion

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Health Education; Preventive Health Services; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Officials

• Markus Melloh, Prof

  ZHAW School of Health Professions

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: A senior bio-statistician blinded to the identity of individuals will randomise clusters to a sequence within the period of data collection when clusters change from the control to the intervention condition (group 1 to 3). The outcome assessors of the physical examination will be blinded to group allocation and previous test results of the participants.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: This study is a stepped wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2019
• First Posted: November 20, 2019
• Study Start: October 28, 2019
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2022
• Study Completion: July 31, 2022
• Last Updated: March 22, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: From June 2020 on (publication)
• Access Criteria: Open access

Locations

CH (2)