Office initiative reduces headaches at work

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on May 21, 2008
Filed Under Stress

Office staff who took part in an eight-month workplace initiative reported that headaches and neck and shoulder pain fell by more than 40 per cent and their use of painkillers halved, according to research published in the May issue of Cephalalgia.

Italian researchers compared 169 staff in Turin’s registry and tax offices with 175 colleagues in separate offices who hadnâ€™t taken part in the educational and physical programme. They found that:

Initially, both groups reported an average of six headache days a month and seven and a half days when they were affected by neck and shoulder pain. They needed to take analgesic drugs two days a month.
By the end of the trial, staff in the study group reported that they suffered 41 per cent fewer headaches, with staff in the control group reporting a negligible rise of 0.02 per cent.
Study group staff also reported 43 per cent less neck and shoulder pain, compared with staff in the control group who reported a five per cent reduction.
When it came to medication, the study group reported a 51 per cent reduction in analgesic use and the control group reported a fall of 15 per cent.

In terms of the global burden of the employee’s headaches and neck and shoulder pain, which is calculated by multiplying intensity by frequency, the researchers found that:

Employees in the study group reported a 41 per cent reduction in headache burden, compared with a two per cent fall for the control group.
The burden of neck and shoulder pain was 54 per cent lower in the study group by the end of the study, with the control group recording a reduction of four per cent.

Staff in the study group were asked to carry out a series of relaxation and posture exercises every two to three hours and provided with red labels to place around their work area to remind them to avoid excessive contraction of their head and shoulder muscles, explains lead author Professor Franco Mongini from the Headache and Facial Pain Unit at the University of Turin, Italy.

The exercises also included two daily periods of relaxation at home in a comfortable armchair with warming pads placed on cheeks and shoulders. The programme was introduced with a short explanatory film, followed by practical demonstration and training.

Staff were also provided with information sheets on the exercises and the clinician leading the study revisited the workplace in months four and six to remind staff of the procedures.

90 per cent of the 384 employees who agreed to take part completed the study. Most were female (80 per cent), with an average age of 46.

Headache and neck and shoulder pain are both a clinical challenge and a major health problemâ€ stresses Professor Mongini. Our study clearly shows that workplace interventions can reduce headaches and neck and shoulder pain.”

The methods adopted were relatively simple and the positive response from the employees, including the low study drop-out rate, suggest that it would prove popular in other workplaces.