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Strength Training and Aerobic Exercise both
lower Cardiovascular Risks,
reduce pain
Newswise — Different types of work site exercise programs
have multiple benefits, including reduced
neck and shoulder pain for employees who do
all-around exercise and lowered heart
disease and stroke risk factors for those
who do strength training, reports a study in
the July Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, official
publication of the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Led by Mogens T. Pedersen, PhD, of University of
Copenhagen, the researchers randomly
assigned 841 Danish office workers to two
exercise groups. One group did all-around
exercise, such as aerobics, walking, etc.
The other group did strength training, focusing on the
shoulder and cervical spine (neck) muscles.
Both programs included one hour of supervised exercise per
week, during working hours. A third group
received no exercise program at work.
Cardiovascular risk factors—including blood pressure and
body fat—decreased not only in workers
assigned to aerobic exercise, but also in
those who did strength training. The average
reduction in blood pressure was large enough
to lead to a 25 percent reduction in stroke
risk.
Both types of exercise also brought reductions in back and
shoulder pain—by about 30 percent, compared
to the no-exercise group. All of these
benefits were achieved despite relatively
small improvements in overall physical
fitness.
Neither form of exercise significantly improved general
health or work productivity. This may have
been because, as a group, the workers were
healthy and highly productive at the start
of the study.
Employers have a vested interest in improving employees'
health and reducing their health risk
factors.
Previous studies have shown benefits of work site exercise
programs, but it is unclear which types of
exercise are most efficient in achieving
certain health outcomes.
One key question is whether specific types of exercise are
needed to reach specific goals: for example,
muscle strengthening to address common
problems like spinal and shoulder pain or
whole-body aerobic exercise to lower heart
disease risks.
Both strength training and all-around exercise are a
valuable part of work site exercise
programs, according to the new study.
The results suggest "transfer effects," with both types of
physical activity improving both
neck/shoulder pain and cardiovascular risk
factors.
"These positive health-related adaptations occurred in
spite of relatively small changes in
physical capacity," Dr. Pedersen and
colleagues write.
About ACOEM
ACOEM (www.acoem.org),
an international society of 5,000
occupational physicians and other health
care professionals, provides leadership to
promote optimal health and safety of
workers, workplaces, and environments.
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