The Relationship Between Fidgeting, Posture Changes, Physical Activity, and Musculoskeletal Discomfort in Office Workers

Background: Increasing standing and walking time has been proposed to mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) associated with prolonged sitting. However, the duration, frequency, and timing of standing and walking required to reduce risk of MSD is less understood. Objective: The primary aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) understand the relationship between daily movement patterns and MSD among office workers; and 2) determine whether daily movement patterns and MSD differed between those with different sitting strategies during prolonged work. Methods: 26 participants completed baseline questionnaires and wore an inertial measuring unit to quantify posture and movement over a 48-h period, stratified by work and leisure time. Participants were then classified as “breakers” and “prolongers” based on breaks taken during a 2-h sitting bout. The relationships between posture, movement and MSD were assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients, two-sample t tests, and Mann Whitney U tests, then stratified by and compared between breakers and prolongers. Results: Step count(r² =  −0.26), standing time(r² =  −0.39), and walking time(r² = −0.31) were negatively associated with MSD, whereas sitting duration was positively(r² = 0.20) associated with MSD; posture, activity, and MSD correlations were similar between work and leisure time. Prolongers(10.55(1.28)) spent more hours sitting compared to breakers(9.01(3.02)) and tended to have more overall MSD(p < 0.05). Conclusion: Increased time spent standing and walking while decreasing sitting time during both work and leisure time may help reduce risk of MSD. Those who did not change posture during the work bout tended to spend more time sitting and less time standing and walking during both work and leisure time. Future interventions should consider encouraging increased standing and walking during both work and leisure time to reduce MSD among office workers.