The Levels of Physical Activity and Work Experience Among Construction Workers: A Preliminary Study
Abstract
Injuries and health problems related to musculoskeletal disorders are common among construction workers. Physically active people have good postural stability which is correlated with less injuries. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of physical activity against work experience in construction workers. 36 healthy men aged 20-60 years were divided into two groups based on their work experience: less experience (LE, n = 12), and more experience (ME, n = 24). Physical activity at work, through sports, and associated with leisure were assessed using the Baecke questionnaire. The results found that there was no significant difference between the LE and ME groups in the level of physical activity (p = 0.146 for work, p = 0.515 for sport, and p = 0.821 for leisure). Nevertheless, both the LE and ME groups had a higher level of physical activity at work than at sport and leisure (p < 0.0001). This preliminary study indicated that construction workers have a high workload which impedes them from other activities during leisure time. Further studies are needed to investigate the correlation between the physical activity level and postural stability among construction workers.
Keywords: physical activity, construction workers, work experience
References
[1] Latza U, Karmaus W, Stürmer T, Steiner M, Neth A, Rehder U. Cohort study of occupational risk factors of low back pain in construction workers. Occup Environ Med. 2000 Jan;57(1):28–34.
[2] Cyma M, Marciniak K, Tomczak M, Stemplewski R. Postural stability and physical activity of workers working at height. Am J Men Health. 2018 Jul;12(4):1068–73.
[3] Faude O, Donath L, Bopp M, Hofmann S, Erlacher D, Zahner L. Neuromuscular training in construction workers: A longitudinal controlled pilot study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2015 Aug;88(6):697–705.
[4] Mousavi SY. Sustainable high-rise building (Case study: Three example of sustainable high-rise building in Iran). Journal of Basic and Applied Research International. 2015;9(11):2027–33.
[5] Salassa JR, Zapala DA. Love and fear of heights: the pathophysiology and psychology of height imbalance. Wilderness Environ Med. 2009;20(4):378–82.
[6] Schenk P, Klipstein A, Spillmann S, Strøyer J, Laubli T. The role of back muscle endurance, maximum force, balance and trunk rotation control regarding lifting capacity. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2006 Jan;96(2):146–56.
[7] da Costa BR, Vieira ER. Risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review of recent longitudinal studies. Am J Ind Med. 2010 Mar;53(3):285– 323.
[8] Granacher U, Muehlbauer T, Zahner L, Gollhofer A, Kressig RW. Comparison of traditional and recent approaches in the promotion of balance and strength in older adults. Sports Med. 2011 May;41(5):377–400.
[9] Gillespie LD, Robertson MC, Gillespie WJ, Sherrington C, Gates S, Clemson LM, et al. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. CochraneDatabase Syst Rev. 2012 Sep;(9):CD007146.
[10] Davis JR, Campbell AD, Adkin AL, Carpenter MG. The relationship between fear of falling and human postural control. Gait Posture. 2009 Feb;29(2):275–9.
[11] Carpenter MG, Adkin AL, Brawley LR, Frank JS. Postural, physiological and psychological reactions to challenging balance: does age make a difference? Age Ageing. 2006 May;35(3):298–303.
[12] Min SN, Kim JY, Parnianpour M. The effects of safety handrails and the heights of scaffolds on the subjective and objective evaluation of postural stability and cardiovascular stress in novice and expert construction workers. Appl Ergon. 2012 May;43(3):574–81.
[13] DiDomenico A, McGorry RW, Huang YH, Blair MF. Perceptions of postural stability after transitioning to standing among construction workers. Saf Sci. 2010;48(2):166– 72.
[14] Castañeda-Babarro A, Arbillaga-Etxarri A, Gutiérrez-Santamaría B, Coca A. Physical Activity Change during COVID-19 Confinement. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Sep;17(18):6878.
[15] Yanovski JA, Yanovski SZ, Sovik KN, Nguyen TT, O’Neil PM, Sebring NG. A prospective study of holiday weight gain. N Engl J Med. 2000 Mar;342(12):861–7.
[16] Altena E, Baglioni C, Espie CA, Ellis J, Gavriloff D, Holzinger B, et al. Dealing with sleep problems during home confinement due to the COVID-19 outbreak: practical recommendations from a task force of the European CBT-I Academy. J Sleep Res. 2020 Aug;29(4):13052.
[17] Jiménez-Pavón D, Carbonell-Baeza A, Lavie CJ. Physical exercise as therapy to fight against the mental and physical consequences of COVID-19 quarantine: Special focus in older people. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2020 May - Jun;63(3):386–8.
[18] Baecke JA, Burema J, Frijters JE. A short questionnaire for the measurement of habitual physical activity in epidemiological studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982 Nov;36(5):936–42.
[19] Chau JY, van der Ploeg HP, Merom D, Chey T, Bauman AE. Cross-sectional associations between occupational and leisure-time sitting, physical activity and obesity in working adults. Prev Med. 2012 Mar-Apr;54(3-4):195–200.
[20] Clemes SA, O’Connell SE, Edwardson CL. Office workers’ objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity during and outside working hours. J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Mar;56(3):298–303.
[21] Sang K, Ison S, Dainty A. The job satisfaction of UK architects and relationships with work-life balance and turnover intentions. Eng Construct Architect Manag. 2009;16(3):288–300.
[22] Holden S, Sunindijo RY. Technology, long work hours, and stress worsen work-life balance in the construction industry. International Journal of Integrated Engineering. 2018;10(2). https://doi.org/10.30880/ijie.2018.10.02.003
[23] Lingard H, Francis V. The worklife experiences of office and sitebased employees in the Australian construction industry. Construct Manag Econ. 2004;22(9):991–100 .
[24] Gatti UC, Schneider S, Migliaccio GC. Physiological condition monitoring of construction workers. Autom Construct. 2014;44:227–33.
[25] Punakallio A. Balance abilities of different-aged workers in physically demanding jobs. J Occup Rehabil. 2003 Mar;13(1):33–43.
[26] Adkin AL, Frank JS, Carpenter MG, Peysar GW. Postural control is scaled to level of postural threat. Gait Posture. 2000 Oct;12(2):87–93.