Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology

en The Effect of Self-management Exercises on Neck Pain and Head and Neck Angles among Iranian University Employees: An Interventional Study Occupational Health Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: Long-term computer use as an ergonomics risk factor can generate musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the neck. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a self-management exercises intervention on both neck pain, and head and neck angles among university employees in 2021. Materials & Methods: This experimental study was performed on 85 university staff (experimental group (N=42) and control group (N=43)) who were randomly selected based on inclusion criteria from the list of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (Iran) employees. The experimental group did the exercises for 12 weeks with five 15-minute sessions per week. The severity of neck pain was determined using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Head and neck angles were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks using photogrammetry and Kinovea software in two postures (reading and typing). Results: About 60% of the participants in the experimental group reported moderate and severe neck pain, decreasing to 26.2% after the intervention. The score of neck pain intensity in the experimental group decreased in the range of 1.15-1.75. The head and gaze tilt angles and head forward position after the intervention in the experimental group showed a significant decrease. Also, the head tilt angle was significantly increased after the intervention. Conclusions: The results showed that exercises could be beneficial in improving the posture of the head and neck, which caused reducing the severity of neck pain among computer users.  </div> Computer,Ergonomics,Exercise,Head,Neck Pain,Posture, 138 147 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-496-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sara Tabanfar saratabanfar.1994@gmail.com 22400319475328460011308 22400319475328460011308 No M.Sc in Occupational Health Engineering, Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran. Qazvin University of Medical Science Ali Safari Variani safary2400@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011309 22400319475328460011309 No Associate Prof., Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Qazvin University of medical sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Qazvin University of Medical Science Seyvan Sobhani seyvan.sobhani21@gmail.com 22400319475328460011310 22400319475328460011310 No M.Sc in Occupational Health Engineering, Dept. of Occupational Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran. Qazvin University of Medical Science Sakineh Varmazyar svarmazyar@qums.ac.ir 22400319475328460011311 22400319475328460011311 Yes Associate Prof., Dept. of Occupational Health engineering. Social Determinants of Health Research Center and Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. Faculty of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Qazvin University of Medical Science