Physical Activity as Cause and Cure of Muscular Pain: Evidence of Underlying Mechanisms

The DPhacto cohort: An overview of technically measured physical activity at work and leisure in blue-collar sectors for practitioners and researchers

For improved prevention of health issues among blue-collar workers, there is a need for an overview of the physical activity at work and leisure using technical long-term measurements in blue-collar sectors investigation of differences between the sectors. Thus, the objective of this paper was to provide an overview and investigate differences in physical activities and body postures at work and leisure among blue-collar sectors. The Dphacto cohort consists of 1087 workers from manufacturing, transportation and cleaning sectors (901 blue-collar and 186 white-collar workers) in Denmark. Eligible workers provided physical activity and heart rate measurements over several days with follow-up on health-related outcomes by self-report and registers. Considerable differences in sitting, standing, time on feet (walking, shuffling and standing combined) and forward bending of the back were found between work and leisure, and between the sectors. This overview of physical activity at work and leisure can be useful for better prevention of work-related health issues among blue-collar workers.

Relationships of leisure-time physical activity and work ability between different occupational physical demands in adult working men

Purpose

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is known to be associated with positive health benefits, but the role of occupational physical demands remains inconsistent. The purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between LTPA and work ability in different occupational physical activity (OPA) levels between young adult men.

Methods

We performed physical activity measurements in work and leisure time with the long version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and work ability with the Work Ability Index (WAI) in 921 Finnish employed male volunteer participants. The participants were divided into LTPA tertiles I (< 8 MET-h/week), II (8–28 MET-h/week), and III (> 28 MET-h/week) and OPA tertiles I (0 MET-h/week), II (< 64 MET-h/week), and III (≥ 64 MET-h/week).

Results

There was a significant relationship between LTPA and WAI in OPA tertiles (adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, working class status, BMI, and employment years). Moreover, each LTPA tertile showed significant linear associations with WAI (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

LTPA is positively associated with work ability among young adult men. More specifically, the relationships between LTPA and WAI were significantly greater in physically demanding jobs than in more passive jobs. Our results indicate the importance of LTPA, particularly with individuals under higher work-related physical strain.