NDLI: Linking physical activity to workers’ low back pain, back health, and theory-based psychological variables: study protocol of the workHealth intensive longitudinal observational study

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Wilhelm, Lea O. Lederle, Nina Diering, Lotte-Eleonora Thiel, Lara Hahn, Sabine Reschke, Antje Steckhan, Greta M. Schmidt, Hendrik Fleig, Lena
Abstract	Background The high prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in today’s working population and its substantial impact on quality of life call for preventive and sustainable strategies. Physical activity (PA), especially during leisure-time (LTPA), has been proposed as one of the few promising, active preventive measures against the onset of LBP. This is the protocol for the prospective observational study workHealth that aims to describe the patterns of PA among workers (including back posture and movement), examine the link between PA, LBP and back health and identify theory-based psychological determinants of LTPA. Methods The proposed study is a longitudinal observational study taking place over 2 months with an intensive-longitudinal ecological momentary assessment (EMA) phase. A sample of 252 adults will be recruited from two working populations, sedentary workers, and manually working physiotherapists. At baseline, participants complete a self-report questionnaire and undergo an objective measurement of their back posture and mobility. At 2, 4, and 8 weeks after baseline, participants fill in the follow-up questionnaires. Starting at baseline, participants will also wear an accelerometer and will complete three daily questionnaires for the following 14 days. In addition to the main study, a sub-sample of 8 observational N-of-1 studies will have an extended EMA phase of 68 days and a data-driven exit interview. The primary outcome is moderate-to-vigorous LTPA. Data will be analyzed using regression and multi-level models. For the N-of-1 studies, a mixed-methods approach will be used including dynamic regressions. Discussion Rather than solely examining LBP from a pathological perspective, workHealth is one of the first studies to investigate psychological, behavioral and biomechanical risk factors and protective resources against LBP. The study will offer insight into theory-based, psychological determinants of LTPA and its relationship to both low back pain and back health. Between-person and within-person level analyses will provide insight on group comparisons of average effects and individual patterns of physical activity in daily life, respectively. Understanding these relationships can inform future behavioral interventions and ultimately contribute to prevention efforts against LBP and the promotion of back health. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00025296\|\| https://drks.de/ \|\| Registration date 28/06/2021
Related Links	https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-025-21873-7.pdf
Ending Page	15
Page Count	15
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712458
DOI	10.1186/s12889-025-21873-7
Journal	BMC Public Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	25
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2025-03-13
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Public Health Medicine Epidemiology Biostatistics Vaccine Environmental Health Leisure-time physical activity Sedentary behavior Workplace Accelerometer Back posture Health action process approach Fear avoidance model of pain Physical activity-mediated demand-control model Back health behavior model Prevention of low back pain Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	3.5/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Fear-Avoidance Beliefs for Physical Activity Among Chronic Low Back Pain: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Sibship, physical activity, and sedentary behavior: a longitudinal, observational study among Mexican-heritage sibling dyads

Moving to business – changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior after multilevel intervention in small and medium-size workplaces

Objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity in a sample of Finnish adults: a cross-sectional study

Improving office workers’ mental health and cognition: a 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial targeting physical activity and sedentary behavior in multi-component interventions

Is there a U-shaped relationship between physical activity in leisure time and risk of chronic low back pain? A follow-up in the HUNT Study

Estimation of leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour among school adolescents in Nepal

Current and historic patterns of chronic disease burden are associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior in older adults: an observational study

Associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity with psychological distress: a cross-sectional study from Singapore

Linking physical activity to workers’ low back pain, back health, and theory-based psychological variables: study protocol of the workHealth intensive longitudinal observational study

Similar Documents

Fear-Avoidance Beliefs for Physical Activity Among Chronic Low Back Pain: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Sibship, physical activity, and sedentary behavior: a longitudinal, observational study among Mexican-heritage sibling dyads

Moving to business – changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior after multilevel intervention in small and medium-size workplaces

Objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity in a sample of Finnish adults: a cross-sectional study

Improving office workers’ mental health and cognition: a 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial targeting physical activity and sedentary behavior in multi-component interventions

Is there a U-shaped relationship between physical activity in leisure time and risk of chronic low back pain? A follow-up in the HUNT Study

Estimation of leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour among school adolescents in Nepal

Current and historic patterns of chronic disease burden are associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior in older adults: an observational study

Associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity with psychological distress: a cross-sectional study from Singapore

Linking physical activity to workers’ low back pain, back health, and theory-based psychological variables: study protocol of the workHealth intensive longitudinal observational study