﻿ Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine - Abstract - Efficacy of workplace interventions for shoulder pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Veronique Lowry, Ariel Desjardins-Charbonneau, Jean-Sébastien Roy, Clermont E. Dionne, Pierre Frémont , Joy C. MacDermid, François Desmeules
Orthopaedic Unit, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, H3S 1S4 Montreal, Canada: E-mail: veronique.lowry@hotmail.com
Shoulder pain represents an important subgroup of work-related upper extremity disorders and incurs important health care costs as well as indirect costs from productivity loss and work absenteeism. We therefore performed a review of studies on the efficacy of workplace-based interventions to prevent or treat shoulder pain in workers. Strenghtening exercises in the workplace resulted in a significant reduction in pain intensity and workstation modifications showed a significant reduction in the prevalence of shoulder pain when compared to different control interventions. However, further studies comparing different exercise programs tailored to the worker’s tasks and specific ergonomic interventions on specific working populations are needed to draw firm conclusions on the effectiveness of workplace interventions for the prevention and reduction of shoulder pain and disability.