Workplace interventions for neck pain in office workers

This review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of workplace-based interventions on the prevention and reduction of neck pain in office workers.

From the articles included in this review, the authors concluded that workplace-based neck and shoulder strengthening exercises, as well as general fitness training, showed moderate quality evidence of being effective in reducing neck pain in office workers.

Effect sizes were larger for strengthening exercises and were proportional to adherence. The efficacy of ergonomic interventions was only supported by low-quality evidence.

Neck pain is a highly prevalent condition in office workers with a large individual, social and economic impact. The increased notion of this burden, coupled with increased concerns about corporate responsibility, has highlighted the importance of workplace-based interventions. 

27 RCTs were included in the review. Risk of bias was assessed using guidelines from Cochrane Neck and Back group. Standardized mean differences and risk ratios were extracted from the articles to determine the effectiveness of workplace-based interventions.

Neck/ shoulder strengthening exercises showed the greatest efficacy in reducing neck pain in symptomatic office workers, followed by general fitness training. Ergonomic interventions were supported only by low-quality evidence.

Literature on the efficacy of workplace interventions on neck pain prevention is still scarce. The authors recommend conducting further studies on this topic.