Elsevier

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 252, 1 August 2022, 113750
Physiology & Behavior

Free-time physical activity and pain perception: An analysis of daily records from Brazilian teachers

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113750Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Pain during the day and at bedtime was highly prevalent among teachers.

  • Practicing physical activity was associated with a lower likelihood of pain.

  • Depressive symptoms had an important confounding effect on the association.

  • A multidisciplinary approach can optimize preventive strategies for pain.

ABSTRACT

The sensation of pain is frequent in teachers and its relationship with the practice of free-time physical activity still needs more scientific evidence. This study analyzed the association between free-time physical activity and pain symptoms experienced by teachers during the day and at bedtime. In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained through individual interviews and the fulfillment of an activity diary by teachers from a city located in southern Brazil. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle and health variables. Among the 141 teachers included, pain perception was reported during the day by 66.7% and at bedtime by 66.0%. Analyses adjusted for sex, age, body mass index and time spent watching television indicated that practicing more than 240 minutes/week of free-time physical activity was associated with a lower likelihood of reported pain during the day (odds ratio, OR=0.18; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.06–0.54) and at bedtime (OR=0.28; 95% CI: 0.10–0.79) compared to practicing ≤60 minutes/week of free-time physical activity. These associations lost statistical significance after the additional adjustment for depressive symptoms. In summary, this study showed that teachers who practiced more than 240 minutes/week of physical activity in free-time were less likely to report pain during the day and at bedtime. Depressive symptoms had an important confounding effect on this association. A multidisciplinary approach can optimize preventive strategies for pain prevention and management through health education programs in the workplace.

Section snippets

INTRODUCTION

In the general population, chronic painful symptoms are related to depression, anxiety, sleep problems, a low quality of life, noncommunicable diseases, and an increased occurrence of absenteeism [1]. In basic education, the working conditions experienced daily by teachers have proven to be intense and exhausting, influencing professional performance [2], health and quality of life [3,4]. These professionals are exposed to a high workload, inadequate infrastructural conditions, bureaucratic

Study design, population and location

This study is part of a larger project entitled Pro-Mestre, a prospective observational cohort study in which the baseline occurred between 2012 and 2013 and the follow-up was performed after 24 months (2014 and 2015) [24,25]. The present cross-sectional analyses were performed with data on physical activity obtained only in the questionnaire applied in the follow-up, in addition to the self-report on pain recorded in a diary, which took place over 7 days following the same interview, as

RESULTS

The population was predominantly female (66.7%), with an average age of 44.0 ± 9.3 years, ranging from 25 to 65 years. The mean BMI was 26.02 ± 4.11 kg/m2, and the average time spent watching TV was 81.5 ± 74.3 minutes per day. The mean score for depressive symptoms was 12.7 ± 9.1 points. More than half (52.5%) of the teachers reported practicing physical activity for more than 60 minutes/week (Table 1).

Fig. 1 shows the unadjusted OR of the association between the practice of FTPA and pain

DISCUSSION

With the aim of analyzing the relationship between the practice of free-time physical activity and pain perception during the day and at bedtime in teachers, we confirmed our initial hypothesis that teachers who engage in regular leisure-time physical activity are less likely to complain of pain both during the day and at bedtime. This study identified that the odds of experiencing pain during the day was 82.0% lower among teachers who practiced more than 240 minutes/week of free-time physical

CONCLUSION

In summary, this study found that practicing physical activity in free time is associated with a lower frequency of reporting pain during the day or at bedtime among teachers.

COLLABORATIONS

M.C.S.S., F.L.G., S.M.A., C.M.G., E.G., M.Z.C. and A.E.M. declare that they contributed to the design of the project, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the article, relevant critical review of the intellectual content and final approval of the version to be published.

FUNDING

This research was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level Personnel, Ministry of Education, Brazil (Grant number: 88882.448066/2019-01) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Grant number: 308406/2018-4).

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To CAPES, CNPq and PRO-MESTRE for the incentive and opportunity.

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