Effects of Whole-body Stretching Exercise for Reducing Musculoskeletal Pain and Physical Exertion Among Healthcare Professionals

Effects of Whole-body Stretching Exercise During Lunch-break for Reducing Musculoskeletal Pain and Physical Exertion Among Healthcare Professionals

Purpose of the study:To investigate effect of whole-body stretching (WBS) exercise during lunch-break for reducing musculoskeletal pain and physical exertion among healthcare professionals

This study involved a single-blinded 2-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare the effect of WBS exercise versus control group during lunch-break to reduce symptoms of WRMSDs in healthcare professionals. sixty healthcare professionals were recruited from Najran university hospital, Saudi Arabia. Study objectives and procedure were properly explained and written informed consent was obtained at the beginning of the study. All the participants were randomly assigned into two equal groups A and B.

Group A were received the 30 minutes of whole body stretching class while group B were received an education program which includes ergonomic principles, WRMSDs and their risk factors, as well as manual handling techniques were explained .

Inclusion Criteria:

• Full time healthcare professionals with more than one year of experience were eligible to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Acute musculoskeletal symptoms (pain intensity on visual analogue scale (VAS) > 7)