“At-Job” Exercise Program versus Ergonomic Brochure on Pain and Disability in Preprimary School Teachers with Low Back Pain

Abstract

Context: The incidence and prevalence of work-related low back pain (LBP) in preprimary teachers are high due to job profile. Interventions that will address this multifaceted problem are strength training, mobility, and preventive measures. These interventions should be admissible during work. Hence, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of “At-Job” exercises and ergonomic brochures on pain and disability in preprimary school teachers suffering from LBP, since both can be administered at work. Subjects and Methods: An interventional study was conducted in schools of Pune on 120 preprimary school teachers with mechanical LBP. The participants were allocated randomly to the Group A “At-Job” exercise group and the Group B ergonomic brochure group. The intervention was given for 6 weeks. Outcome measures Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were recorded at the beginning and the end of the intervention. Results: Both “At-Job” exercises and ergonomic groups demonstrated statistically significant reductions in the VAS and ODI scores (P < 0.05). When a comparison was done between the groups, Group A (“At-Job” exercise) was significantly better than Group B in terms of the VAS as well as ODI (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Although both the “At-Job” exercise and ergonomic brochure groups were effective in reducing chronic LBP, the “At-Job” exercise group showed better improvement than the ergonomic brochure intervention.