Background:

Decreased physical activity levels have been found among subjects with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Still, little is known about the distribution of physical activity and sedentary behavior over a work day, and whether these patterns differ between work and leisure time. Our aim was to characterize and compare physical activity patterns at work and leisure time (spent at home or elsewhere) among office workers with MSD and asymptomatic controls.

Methods:

Seventeen office workers (11f, 6m; mean age 41(SD=11) years) with neck-shoulder pain, and 17 age- and gender-matched asymptomatic office workers participated. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were monitored continuously for seven days using a single tri-axial accelerometer (ActivPAL). During four consecutive work-days within this period, data from a geographical positioning system (GPS) detector installed on a smartphone was combined with a written diary to identify the location (work place, leisure "at home" and "elsewhere") of the participants. Differences between groups in mean physical activity levels (excluding sleep) stratified by location were analysed with ANOVA. Physical activity patterns were expressed using Exposure Variation Analysis (EVA), showing the percentage of time spent in periods of different durations (<1min, 1-5min, 5-10min, 10-30min, 30-60min, >60min) of sitting/lying, standing, and walking.

Results:

In both groups, the lowest activity levels were found at work. Leisure "elsewhere" showed less %time in long bouts (>30min) of sitting/lying and more %time in walking (5-10 and 10-30 min bouts) compared with "home". Workers with pain did not increase their leisure activity level "elsewhere" compared with "home" to the same extent as controls, which was mainly reflected in a larger %time in prolonged periods (>30 min) of sitting/lying among those with pain.

Conclusion:

The combination of accelerometry and GPS allowed a detailed characterization of physical activity patterns stratified by location among office workers. Some differences were found between workers with and without MSD, which need further investigation as to their effects on health and well-being.