Effects on musculoskeletal pain, work ability and sickness absence in a 1-year randomised controlled trial among cleaners

A cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted among 294 female cleaners allocated to either physical coordination training (PCT), cognitive behavioural training (CBTr) or a reference group (REF). Questionnaires about musculoskeletal pain and work ability were completed at baseline and after one year's intervention. Sickness absence data were obtained from the managers' records. Analyses were performed according to the intention-to-treat-principle (ITT).No overall reduction in musculoskeletal pain, work ability or sickness absence from either PCT or CBTr compared with REF was found in conservative ITT analyses. However, explorative analyses revealed a treatment effect for musculoskeletal pain of the PCT. People with chronic neck/shoulder pain at baseline were more frequently non-chronic at follow-up after PCT compared with REF (p = 0.05).The PCT intervention appeared effective for reducing chronic neck/shoulder pain among the female cleaners. It is recommended that future interventions among similar high-risk job groups focus on the implementation aspects of the interventions to maximise outcomes more distal from the intervention such as work ability and sickness absence.ISRCTN: ISRCTN96241850High physical work demands increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain [1,2], impaired work ability [3] and long-term sickness absence [4,5]. Moreover, musculoskeletal pain, work ability and high sickness absence are predictors of early retirement from work [3,6,7]. Thus, the consequences of musculoskeletal pain, impaired work ability and elevated sickness absence are considerable for the individual as well as for society [8,9].There are indications that low educated job groups which are often characterised by high physical work demands, high sickness absence and early retirement have less access to health initiatives through the workplace compared with their more highly educated counterparts [10]. Therefore, effective well-documented initiatives to prevent musculoskeletal p