Peer-reviewed research
Effects of software programs stimulating regular breaks and exercises on work-related neck and upper-limb disorders
Svend G. van den Heuvel et al., Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 2003 · DOI 10.5271/sjweh.712
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A cluster-randomised trial of 268 computer workers with neck or upper limb complaints in 22 office locations. Software prompted extra breaks, with or without exercises, over eight weeks.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed randomised trial. Its main result is self-reported recovery, and symptom severity did not differ significantly between groups, so it is weaker evidence than the recovery figure alone suggests.
Facts taken from this source
- In the 2003 trial of software that prompted breaks, 55 percent of workers in the intervention groups reported recovery from their complaints, against 34 percent in the control group.
“more subjects in the intervention groups than in the control group reported recovery (55% versus 34%) from their complaints” (Results)