Ergonomic interventions are often held up as the answer to low back pain at work. From high end office chairs to carefully designed workspaces, the push for ergonomic environments has real momentum.
How effective are those strategies in reality?
The evidence
Recent systematic reviews challenge some long held beliefs about workplace ergonomics. A comprehensive analysis of physical and organisational ergonomic interventions by Driessen and colleagues (2013) found those measures were often no more effective than no intervention at reducing the prevalence, incidence and intensity of low back and neck pain, in both the short and the long term.
Some specific physical interventions, such as certain chairs and arm boards, did show an effect on neck pain. That came from a limited number of studies, which suggests the picture is more nuanced than it is usually sold as (Van Eerd and colleagues, 2016).
How it is sold, and what the reviews found
How it is sold
- The right chair prevents back pain.
- A desk setup is the fix.
- Equipment solves the problem on its own.
What the reviews found
- Often no better than no intervention for low back and neck pain.
- An effect on neck pain from some specific changes, in a limited number of studies.
- Pain has more inputs than the workstation.
The complexity of workplace health
Low back and neck pain are complex, with many contributing factors: physical load, work stress, job satisfaction and life outside work. Your pain may relate to how satisfied you are in your current role (Seeberg and colleagues, 2019). Addressing it takes more than a physical adjustment to the desk.
Johnston and colleagues (2021) ran a trial with 763 office workers looking at ergonomic interventions for neck pain. One group received ergonomic desk adjustments and health education, the other received those adjustments plus a set of neck exercises. Contrary to expectations, both groups saw an increase in sick leave and a reduction in productivity after the interventions.
What the trial found
Johnston and colleagues (2021) ran a trial with 763 office workers looking at ergonomic interventions for neck pain.
One group received ergonomic desk adjustments and health education.
The other received those adjustments plus a set of neck exercises.
Contrary to expectations, both groups saw an increase in sick leave and a reduction in productivity after the interventions.
763 office workers
Johnston and colleagues (2021) ran a trial with 763 office workers looking at ergonomic interventions for neck pain.
Two groups
One group received ergonomic desk adjustments and health education.
Neck exercises too
The other received those adjustments plus a set of neck exercises.
Both groups
Contrary to expectations, both groups saw an increase in sick leave and a reduction in productivity after the interventions.
So what should you do
Ergonomics plays a part, but it is one piece of a larger puzzle. Lifestyle, workplace wellbeing and an understanding of how many factors feed into low back pain all matter.
Before you invest in the next ergonomic product, take a moment to look at the whole picture. The simplest answers are often the most effective.
Worth looking at first
Movement
How often you get up and change position across a working day.
Sleep
Whether you are sleeping enough to recover from the week.
Stress
The load you are carrying outside the desk as well as at it.
The job itself
How satisfied you are in the role you spend the week doing.
When it is worth getting looked at
If the pain keeps coming back, or it is limiting what you can do at work, an assessment is more useful than another purchase. We look at how you move, what your week actually asks of you, and where the load is landing.
Sources
- Driessen, M. T., Proper, K. I., van Tulder, M. W., Anema, J. R., Bongers, P. M., and van der Beek, A. J. (2013). The effectiveness of physical and organisational ergonomic interventions on low back pain and neck pain: a systematic review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(4), 277 to 285.
- Johnston, V., Chen, X., Welch, A., Sjogaard, G., Comans, T. A., McStea, M., Straker, L., Melloh, M., Pereira, M., and O'Leary, S. (2021). A cluster randomised trial of workplace ergonomics and neck specific exercise versus ergonomics and health promotion for office workers to manage neck pain. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 22(1), 68.
- Seeberg, K. G. V., Andersen, L. L., Bengtsen, E., and Sundstrup, E. (2019). Effectiveness of workplace interventions in rehabilitating musculoskeletal disorders and preventing its consequences among workers with physical and sedentary employment. Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 219.
- Van Eerd, D., Munhall, C., Irvin, E., Rempel, D., Brewer, S., van der Beek, A. J., Dennerlein, J. T., Tullar, J., Skivington, K., Pinion, C., and Amick, B. (2016). Effectiveness of workplace interventions in the prevention of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and symptoms: an update of the evidence. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 73(1), 62 to 70.