Physical exercise, body mass index, and risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders: longitudinal data from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain constitutes a large socioeconomic challenge, and preventive measures with documented effects are warranted. The authors' aim in this study was to prospectively investigate the association between physical exercise, body mass index (BMI), and risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders. The study comprised data on approximately 30,000 women and men in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (Norway) who reported no pain or physical impairment at baseline in 1984-1986. Occurrence of chronic musculoskeletal pain was assessed at follow-up in 1995-1997. A generalized linear model was used to calculate adjusted risk ratios. For both females and males, hours of physical exercise per week were linearly and inversely associated with risk of chronic pain in the low back (women: P-trend = 0.02; men: P-trend < 0.001) and neck/shoulders (women: P-trend = 0.002; men: P-trend < 0.001). Obese women and men had an approximately 20% increased risk of chronic pain in both the low back and the neck/shoulders. Exercising for 1 or more hours per week compensated, to some extent, for the adverse effect of high BMI on risk of chronic pain. The authors conclude that physical inactivity and high BMI are associated with an increased risk of chronic pain in the low back and neck/shoulders in the general adult population.

[1]  P M Bongers,et al.  The effect of physical activity in leisure time on neck and upper limb symptoms. , 2005, Preventive medicine.

[2]  E. Badley,et al.  Relative importance of musculoskeletal disorders as a cause of chronic health problems, disability, and health care utilization: findings from the 1990 Ontario Health Survey. , 1994, The Journal of rheumatology.

[3]  P. Brooks.  The burden of musculoskeletal disease—a global perspective , 2006, Clinical Rheumatology.

[4]  A. Woolf,et al.  Burden of major musculoskeletal conditions. , 2003, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[5]  B. Hustvedt,et al.  Reliability and validity of self-reported physical activity in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study — HUNT 1 , 2008, Scandinavian journal of public health.

[6]  O. Vasseljen,et al.  Association between physical exercise, body mass index, and risk of fibromyalgia: Longitudinal data from the Norwegian Nord‐Trøndelag Health Study , 2010, Arthritis care & research.

[7]  T. Cole,et al.  Back pain and obesity in the 1958 British birth cohort. cause or effect? , 2000, Journal of clinical epidemiology.

[8]  E. Kalso,et al.  Risk factors of atherosclerosis and shoulder pain – Is there an association? A systematic review , 2008, European journal of pain.

[9]  Roger Webb,et al.  Prevalence and Predictors of Intense, Chronic, and Disabling Neck and Back Pain in the UK General Population , 2003, Spine.

[10]  G. Macfarlane,et al.  Epidemiology of pain , 2006 .

[11]  B. Koes,et al.  Work-related risk factors for the incidence and recurrence of shoulder and neck complaints among nursing-home and elderly-care workers. , 2004, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[12]  C. Cooper,et al.  Repeatability and validity of an upper limb and neck discomfort questionnaire: the utility of the standardized Nordic questionnaire. , 1999, Occupational medicine.

[13]  A. J. van der Beek,et al.  Work-related disease in general practice: a systematic review. , 2005, Family practice.

[14]  S. Aro,et al.  Overweight and musculoskeletal morbidity: a ten-year follow-up. , 1985, International journal of obesity.

[15]  J. Levine,et al.  Role of interleukin-6 in chronic muscle hyperalgesic priming , 2008, Neuroscience.

[16]  U. Das.  Is obesity an inflammatory condition? , 2001, Nutrition.

[17]  E. Viikari-Juntura,et al.  Lifestyle and metabolic factors in relation to shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendinitis: A population-based study , 2010, BMC musculoskeletal disorders.

[18]  E Viikari-Juntura,et al.  A prospective study of work related factors and physical exercise as predictors of shoulder pain , 2001, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[19]  J Dul,et al.  The relationship between leisure time, physical activities and musculoskeletal symptoms and disability in worker populations , 2000, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[20]  M. Aickin,et al.  Pilot study of inflammatory responses following a negative imaginal focus in persons with chronic pain: analysis by sex/gender. , 2010, Gender medicine.

[21]  S. Linton,et al.  Preventive Interventions for Back and Neck Pain Problems: What is the Evidence? , 2001, Spine.

[22]  H. Picavet,et al.  Musculoskeletal pain in the Netherlands: prevalences, consequences and risk groups, the DMC3-study , 2003, Pain.

[23]  K. Zacharowski,et al.  Nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines correlate with pain intensity in chronic pain patients , 2007, Inflammation Research.

[24]  L. Adair,et al.  Longitudinal Trends in Obesity in the United States From Adolescence to the Third Decade of Life , 2010, Obesity.

[25]  K. Hagen,et al.  Bmc Musculoskeletal Disorders Physical Inactivity Is Associated with Chronic Musculoskeletal Complaints 11 Years Later: Results from the Nord-trøndelag Health Study , 2022 .

[26]  Y. Shapira,et al.  Raised interleukin-6 levels in obese patients. , 2000, Obesity research.

[27]  U. Das.  Anti-inflammatory nature of exercise. , 2004, Nutrition.

[28]  E. Viikari-Juntura,et al.  The association between obesity and low back pain: a meta-analysis. , 2010, American journal of epidemiology.

[29]  L. Bouter,et al.  A cost-of-illness study of back pain in The Netherlands , 1995, Pain.

[30]  B. Jonsson,et al.  Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. , 1987, Applied ergonomics.