Construction workers working in musculoskeletal pain and engaging in leisure‐time physical activity: Findings from a mixed‐methods pilot study

Background While exercise has been shown to be beneficial for some musculoskeletal pain conditions, construction workers who are regularly burdened with musculoskeletal pain may engage less in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) due to pain. In a small pilot study,weinvestigatehowmusculoskeletalpainmayinfluenceparticipationinLTPAamong construction workers. Methods A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed using a jobsitebased survey (n ¼43) among workers at two commercial construction sites and one focus group (n ¼5). Results Over 93% of these construction workers reported engaging in LTPA and 70% reported musculoskeletal pain. Fifty-seven percent of workers who met either moderate or vigorous LTPA guidelines reported lowerextremity pain (i.e., ankle, knee) compared with 21% of those who did not engage in either LTPA (P ¼0.04). Focus group analyses indicate that workers felt they already get significant physical activity out of their job because they are “moving all the time and not sitting behind a desk.”Workers also felt they “have no choice but towork throughpainanddiscomfort [as theworker] needs todoanythingtoget thejobdone.” Conclusion Pilot study findings suggest that construction workers not only engage in eithermoderateorvigorousLTPAdespitemusculoskeletalpainbutworkersinpainengage inmoreLTPAthanconstructionworkerswithoutpain.Am.J.Ind.Med.57:819–825,2014. 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.