Work demands and physical activity in hospital employees with different degrees of musculoskeletal pain: descriptive data from the STUNTH study, Norway

BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2026 May 21. doi: 10.1186/s12891-026-09972-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Healthcare employees are frequently exposed to several risk factors for musculoskeletal pain at work, including high physical demands, psychological stressors, and high levels of occupational physical activity. We aimed to describe self-perceived work demands and device-measured physical activity at work among hospital employees across different occupations and clinical settings experiencing no pain, short-term pain, or long-lasting pain.

METHODS: We used cross-sectional data on 1,413 hospital employees who participated in the first wave of the STUNTH (The Study of New Technology and Health among Hospital employees) cohort study. Physical activity was captured by two Axivity AX3 triaxial accelerometers placed on the thigh and lower back during up to seven consecutive days. Self-perceived work demands at the most demanding shift during the same period were assessed by NASA-Task Load Index (overall score and physical and mental demands subscales), ranging from 0 "Very low demands" to 100 "Very high demands". Musculoskeletal pain was measured by the Norwegian Pain Society Minimum Questionnaire, categorized by pain duration: no pain, short-term (during the last 7 days), or long-lasting (> 3 months). Quantile median regression models adjusted for age and sex were used to estimate work demands and physical activity according to different characteristics of musculoskeletal pain.

RESULTS: The overall prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was 75.7%, where 31.6% reported short-term pain during the previous seven days, and 44.1% reported having pain lasting > 3 months. Both perceived overall work demands and perceived physical work demands were higher for those reporting long-lasting musculoskeletal pain compared to those without pain, with a median difference of 5.8 (95% CI: 3.35 to 8.21) and 10.3 (95% CI: 1.51 to 19.02), respectively. There were no clear differences in mental demands or in device-measured physical activity between employees with or without musculoskeletal pain.

CONCLUSION: Employees with long-lasting musculoskeletal pain reported higher perceived overall work demands and perceived physical demands, but no significant differences in proportion of time spent in device-measured physical activity types compared to employees without musculoskeletal pain.

PMID:42169028 | DOI:10.1186/s12891-026-09972-x