Research and News
Posts tagged occupational
Researchers show Thera-Band Tubing exercise decreases pain in workers
Jun 17th
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Previously, Danish researchers reported that 2 minutes of daily Thera-Band® tubing shoulder lateral raise exercise significantly reduced neck and shoulder pain over 10 weeks. As part of their randomized controlled trial, Dr. Lars L. Anderson and his colleagues at the National Research Center for the Working Environment in Copenhagen wanted to know the effects of the exercise on workers with headaches. Click here to see a video of the exercise. 198 office workers with chronic neck/shoulder pain were randomly assigned to either a 2 or 12-minute per day, 5 day a week exercise program, or a control group. After 10 weeks, both exercise groups had significantly fewer headaches than the control group – with a frequency reduction of 43%-56%. Intensity and duration of headaches remained unchanged. As with their previous study, 2 minutes was as effective as 12 minutes of exercise per day.
Dr Andersen stated, “The elastic resistance exercise helps strengthen the muscles around the neck and shoulder that may improve their work capacity, thus making the muscles more efficient and less painful.” Dr. Andersen and his colleagues published their results More >
Thera-Band® Neck Pain Exercise Video Available
Apr 12th
A few months ago, I posted a blog about a new study by Dr. Lars Andersen in Denmark, which showed that a simple Thera-Band® elastic tubing exercise significantly reduced neck and shoulder pain in office workers. We now have a short 1-minute video that demonstrates the neck pain exercise for workers and companies that might be interested in improving productivity and reducing insurance costs. Click on the image below to view the Thera-Band elastic tubing exercise video or link to it here.
In addition, I’ve created a web page with a review of the study, as well as links to the research paper and the video at http://info.thera-bandacademy.com/neckpainexercise. At the bottom of the page, you can also see links to the media coverage in Denmark. Please feel free to share the outcomes of this excellent study with anyone you know who may benefit from a quick, simple, and inexpensive solution to occupational neck pain.
Neck pain in office workers relieved with 2 minutes of Thera-Band exercise!
Feb 7th
Neck pain combined with shoulder pain is a common problem among desk workers, particularly those using a desktop computer. One study noted a 50% incidence of neck/shoulder pain over a 1-year period. Lars Andersen PhD and his colleagues in Copenhagen, Denmark, completed a randomized controlled trial of 198 office workers with neck/shoulder pain and tenderness to palpation. The researchers wanted to develop an “exercise program as simple and feasible as possible.”
They chose Thera-Band® elastic tubing with handles for an exercise routine using only 1 exercise for either 2 or 12 minutes. The subjects were randomly assigned to either a non-exercising control group, a 2-minute exercise group, or a 12-minute exercise group. The exercise groups performed a lateral raise exercise in the scapular plane to 90 degrees of abduction with elastic tubing. The exercises were performed 5 days per week (10 minutes and 60 minutes per week in the 2- and 12-minute groups, respectively) for 10 weeks. Female subjects started with Red Thera-Band resistance tubing, while the male subjects started with Green tubing. Both groups gradually increased their repetitions and resistance to Blue Thera-Band resistance tubing. The 2-minute group performed the exercise for one set to failure, while the 12-minute group performed 5 to 6 More >
Thera-Band® exercise program successful in treating occupational shoulder impingement
Aug 6th
Several studies have shown that exercise programs including Thera-Band® resistance bands are effective at reducing the pain and dysfunction in patients with shoulder impingement. These patients often exhibit muscle imbalances of the scapular and rotator cuff muscles, leading to subacromial impingement. Overhead workers are particularly prone to shoulder impingement due to the demands of their job. Physical therapists in Brazil established a specific treatment program for 14 men in the school supply industry with chronic subacromial impingement syndrome averaging over 2 years duration of symptoms.
The 8-week program was performed and supervised by a physiotherapist in a treatment room at the work site twice a week. The patients were assessed for subjective pain and function before and after the program that include the following standardized sequence:
- Cryotherapy. Ice packs applied to anterior and posterior shoulder for 20 minutes
- Stretches. 3 sets of 30 seconds with 30 seconds rest between repetitions, performed on both shoulders for upper trapezius, posterior shoulder, and pectoralis minor (corner stretch)
- Thera-Band strengthening program: performed on both shoulders using progressive Thera-Band color-coded resistance bands . Participants began with mild tension on the band and stretched to approximately one-third the original resting length with 1 minute rest between sets for 3 sets of 10 More >
