An educational and physical program to reduce headache, neck/shoulder pain in a working community: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Noninvasive physical management is often prescribed for headache and neck pain. Systematic reviews, however, indicate that the evidence of its efficacy is limited. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace educational and physical program in reducing headache and neck/shoulder pain.

Methodology/principal findings

Cluster-randomized controlled trial. All municipal workers of the City of Turin, Italy, were invited to participate. Those who agreed were randomly assigned, according to their departments, to the intervention group (IG) or to the control group and were given diaries for the daily recording of pain episodes for 1 month (baseline). Subsequently, only the IG (119 departments, 923 workers) began the physical and educational program, whereas th

SUBMITTER: Mongini F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3253792 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature