Different level, but a similar day pattern of physical activity in workers and sick-listed people with chronic nonspecific musculoskeletal pain.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether physical activity (PA) levels and day patterns of sick-listed workers with chronic nonspecific musculoskeletal pain (CMP) admitted for multidisciplinary rehabilitation are different from those of workers with CMP. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING Outpatient rehabilitation center and general community. PARTICIPANTS A convenience sample of sick-listed patients with CMP (n=27) referred for multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation, and a volunteer sample of workers with CMP (n=107; <5% sick leave in year before participation). INTERVENTION Participants wore an accelerometer for 5 to 7 consecutive days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE PA, expressed as activity counts. All analyses were corrected for confounders. RESULTS PA levels of workers with CMP were higher than those of sick-listed patients (P=.01). After correction for confounders, work status explained 3.5% of the variance observed in activity counts (F(change)=5.27, P=.024). In the mornings, group status significantly contributed to the variance in mean activity counts (F(change)=5.32, P=.02). In afternoons (F(change)=3.29, P=.07) and evenings (F(change)=2.41, P=.12), the effect of group status on PA level was nonsignificant. No significant interaction was observed between time and group status (Wilks' λ=.92, F(14,104)=.66, P=.80). CONCLUSIONS Workers with CMP have a higher PA level compared with sick-listed patients. The PA day pattern did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.