Physical Functioning clinical trials

Personalized Exercise Counseling to Promote Workability

The study design is a 2-arm randomized controlled trial with 6-month intervention period and follow-up at 6, 12 and 24 months among blue-color workers of Nokia City with reduced work ability and high number of musculoskeletal problems. The participants (n=190) will be randomly assigned to intervention-arm providing face-to-face Personalized Exercise Counseling combined with interactive accelerometer (PEC-arm) or a non-intervention Control-arm. The study aims at improving workability (main outcome) and reducing musculoskeletal pain by counseling and motivating the workers to increase physical activity and exercise according to self-selected modes. Exercise instructors of Nokia City are responsible for providing the face-to-face part of PEC. The Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (UKK) Institute is responsible for providing online feedback of the data collected by the interactive ExSed® accelerometer, stored and analyzed in the Cloud, from where the participants in the PEC-arm receive daily feedback thru a smart phone application. Cost-effectiveness of the PEC-intervention compared to the Control-arm in terms of quality adjusted life-years (QALY) and days of sickness absence are also investigated. The following measurements will be taken at baseline and the three follow-up timepoints: work-, health- and physical activity related factors collected by two electronic questionnaires, objective measurements of movement continuum (sleep, sedentary behavior, standing-ups, standing, light activity, moderate activity, vigorous activity) for 24/7 (RM42 research accelerometer), 3 tests of physical fitness and blood samples related to blood sugar and lipid profile.