Effects of a smartphone game to facilitate active neck movements on the incidence of neck pain among office workers: A 6-month cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of a smartphone game for active neck movement exercise on perceived neck discomfort, new onset neck pain, and active cervical range of motion among high-risk office workers.

Methods: A 6-month prospective cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted. Workers were randomly assigned at the cluster level into either the intervention group (n = 50), who received a smartphone game to play twice a day, or the control group (n = 50), who received a placebo seat pad to use while sitting. Both groups were followed up for 6 months and outcome measures included the incidence of neck pain, perceived neck discomfort, assessed by the Borg CR-10, and active cervical range of motion. Analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard models.

Results: The 6-month incidence of neck pain was 20% and 44% in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Hazard ratios, after adjusting for biopsychosocial factors, showed a protective effect of the smartphone game for new onset neck pain (HR_adj = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.91). The between group differences in perceived neck discomfort during the follow up did not reach the minimally clinically important difference level. Mean active cervical range of motion in the intervention group were significantly greater than the control group in all directions (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The smartphone game for active neck movement exercise is an effective intervention to prevent neck pain among high-risk office workers.