Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39939850›Full record

Trial reportThe journal of headache and pain2025

Effects of neck-exercise and health promotion on headache outcomes in office workers: secondary analysis of the NEXpro stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial.

Markus J Ernst, André Meichtry, Kerstin Luedtke, NEXpro collaboration group, Deborah Falla

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in The journal of headache and pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04169646 (On-site Multi-component Intervention to Improve Productivity and Reduce the Economic and Personal Burden of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04169646 nacompletednot on this map

On-site Multi-component Intervention to Improve Productivity and Reduce the Economic and Personal Burden of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers

TypeinterventionalSponsorZurich University of Applied SciencesRan2019 to 2022Enrolled120ConditionsNeck Pain, Headache, Musculoskeletal Diseases, Adherence, PatientArmsMulti-component intervention, Control
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Markus J ErnstCentre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain, School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. markus.ernst@zhaw.ch.
André MeichtryInstitute of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Katharina-Sulzer Platz 9, Winterthur, 8401, Switzerland.
Kerstin LuedtkeInstitute of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
NEXpro collaboration group
Deborah FallaCentre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain, School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 32003B_182389
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHeadache conditions have a high prevalence worldwide. Office workers with high and demanding workload, but low physical activity levels are considered vulnerable for suffering from headache. This analysis examines whether exercise combined with health promotion at the workplace is effective for headache relief in office workers.

methodsThis study reports the results of secondary outcomes of a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. Office workers (n = 120) were randomly assigned to a twelve-week supervised intervention period, consisting of neck and shoulder girdle exercises with health promotion interventions performed at the workplace. Secondary outcomes were analysed and modelled for headache occurrence, frequency, and the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), accounting for possible effects for the intervention, the period it had been introduced, and interactional and nested effects.

resultsAt baseline, 88 of the 120 participants reported ≥ one headache episode in the past four weeks, with a mean headache frequency of 3.58 days for that period. The mean HIT-6 score for the entire cohort amounted to 53.6 points. For headache occurrence and HIT-6, the simplest model with the intervention only, showed the best statistical fit with an odds ratio for headache occurrence of 0.46 (95% confidence interval: 0.25 to 0.84), and - 2.23 (95% confidence interval: -3.35 to -1.12) points on the HIT-6 questionnaire. For headache frequency, the model accounting for interaction effects (intervention x period) had the best statistical fit and showed an incidence rate ratio of 0.57 (95% confidence interval: 0.44 to 0.74) for the first period, but not for later ones.

conclusionsNeck exercises and health promotion had a positive impact on headache occurrence, headache frequency and HIT-6, with the latter not reaching clinical importance. Although only statistically significant for headache frequency, larger effects were found during earlier periods or shorter interventional exposure for all outcomes, necessitating refresher sessions at later periods.

trial registrationNCT04169646.

Indexed as

ExerciseExercise TherapyHeadacheHealth PromotionNeckAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeWorkplaceCluster RCTHeadacheNeck exerciseOffice workStepped wedge design

Identifiers

PMID39939850
PMCPMC11817237

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.