Bau Jian-Guo, Chia Taipau, Wei Shan-Hua, Li Yung-Hui, Kuo Fun-Chie
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Hungkuang University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC.
PLoS One. 2017 Jan 6;12(1):e0169318. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169318. eCollection 2017.
Modern office workers are often impacted by chronic neck/shoulder pain. Most of the previous studies which investigated the relationship of the occupational factors and musculoskeletal symptoms had adopted questionnaire survey. In this study the microcirculatory characteristics and perceived symptoms in neck/shoulder region were compared among office workers with sedentary lifestyle.
Thirty-seven female office workers were recruited in this study. Microcirculatory flow in neck/shoulder region characterized by the mean blood flow (MMBF value), pulsatile blood flow (PMBF value), and the PMBF/MMBF ratio (perfusion pulsatility, PP) were investigated using Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF). A Chinese version of the Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) were also administered to collect the information of perceived neck/shoulder symptoms. Correlations between the perfusion characteristics and the individual/occupational factors were analyzed using the Spearman test. The difference of the MMBF values between the low-pain group (pain level≤2) and the high-pain group (pain level>2) were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
There were 81% participants reported neck or shoulder pain symptoms. The duration of shoulder pain was significantly correlated with the workers' age and the duration of employment (p<0.01) (n = 37). While both the MMBF and PMBF values in shoulder region were significantly reduced with the workers' age and the duration of employment (p<0.05) (n = 27). And there was a 54% reduction in the MMBF value of the workers from age of 23 to 47. And the MMBF value of the high-pain group (n = 15) was significantly lower than the value of the low-pain group (n = 15) (p<0.05). The duration of shoulder pain showed a moderately negative correlation with PMBF values (n = 19). Besides, the PP value was moderately correlated with shoulder pain level attributed by the rapid reduction of MMBF values (p = 0.07).
In this study, the LDF method was used for the first time in the workplace in Taiwan. It was demonstrated that the MMBF in shoulder region were affected by aging effect and towards lower value at higher pain level. Impaired microcirculation caused by age effect, when coupled with sedentary lifestyle, was found to be more likely to evoke ischemia shoulder pain. Further studies are needed to assess current indicator, PP value, and the underlying mechanism of pain caused by sedentary lifestyle.
现代办公室职员常受慢性颈/肩痛影响。以往多数研究职业因素与肌肉骨骼症状关系时采用问卷调查。本研究比较久坐生活方式的办公室职员颈部/肩部区域的微循环特征及自觉症状。
本研究招募了37名女性办公室职员。采用激光多普勒血流仪（LDF）检测颈部/肩部区域以平均血流（MMBF值）、搏动血流（PMBF值）和PMBF/MMBF比值（灌注搏动性，PP）为特征的微循环血流。还使用中文版标准化北欧肌肉骨骼问卷（NMQ）收集自觉颈部/肩部症状信息。采用Spearman检验分析灌注特征与个体/职业因素之间的相关性。使用Mann-Whitney U检验比较低疼痛组（疼痛程度≤2）和高疼痛组（疼痛程度>2）的MMBF值差异。
81%的参与者报告有颈部或肩部疼痛症状。肩部疼痛持续时间与职员年龄和工作年限显著相关（p<0.01）（n = 37）。而肩部区域的MMBF和PMBF值均随职员年龄和工作年限显著降低（p<0.05）（n = 27）。从23岁到47岁，职员的MMBF值降低了54%。高疼痛组（n = 15）的MMBF值显著低于低疼痛组（n = 15）（p<0.05）。肩部疼痛持续时间与PMBF值呈中度负相关（n = 19）。此外，PP值与因MMBF值快速降低导致的肩部疼痛程度呈中度相关（p = 0.07）。
本研究首次在台湾工作场所使用LDF方法。结果表明，肩部区域的MMBF受衰老影响，且在疼痛程度较高时数值较低。发现年龄效应导致的微循环受损，再加上久坐的生活方式，更易引发肩部缺血性疼痛。需要进一步研究评估当前指标PP值以及久坐生活方式导致疼痛的潜在机制。
