Work‐related repetitive strain injury and leisure‐time physical activity

Objective

To investigate the relationship between leisure‐time physical activity and work‐related repetitive strain injury (RSI), adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and work‐related physical and stress factors.

Methods

The data source was the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, a national cross‐sectional survey of 134,072 respondents. The analysis was limited to a sample of the survey population reporting full‐time work during the past 12 months (n = 58,622). The outcome of interest was work‐related RSI of the upper body. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the outcome and leisure‐time physical activity level, adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and occupational characteristics. The potential effect of leisure‐time physical activity with a high upper‐body load was investigated in a secondary analysis.

Results

The prevalence of upper‐body work‐related RSI was 5.9% in the Canadian population in 2003. An active lifestyle during leisure time was associated with a lower prevalence of work‐related upper‐body RSI (odds ratio 0.84, 99% confidence interval 0.75–0.95), after adjustment for work physical demands and other covariates. Female sex, obesity, smoking, age, work‐related stress, and work physical demands were associated with RSI. In the secondary analysis, we did not find that participating in leisure‐time activities with a high upper‐body load was a risk factor for RSI.

Conclusion

Our study results indicate that being physically active during leisure time is associated with a decreased risk of upper‐body occupational RSI, adding another potential health benefit to participation in leisure‐time physical activity.