Objective. The prevalence of neck muscle pain has steadily increased and especially pain from the descending part of the trapezius muscle has been associated with monotonous work tasks such as computer work. Physical exercise is generally recommended as treatment, but it is unclear which type of training is most effective. Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of specific strength training of the painful muscle versus general fitness training without direct involvement of the painful muscle (leg bicycling) on work-related neck muscle pain. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial and recruited subjects from 7 workplaces characterized by monotonous jobs (e.g., computer-intensive work). Forty-eight employed women with chronic neck muscle pain (defined as a clinical diagnosis of trapezius myalgia) were randomly assigned to 10 weeks of specific strength training locally for the affected muscle, general fitness training performed as leg bicycling with relaxed shoulders, or a reference intervention without physical activity. The main outcome measure was an acute and prolonged change in intensity of neck muscle pain (100-mm visual analog scale [VAS]). Results. A decrease of 35 mm (ϳ79%; P < 0.001) in the worst VAS pain score over a 10-week period was seen with specific strength training, whereas an acute and transient decrease in pain (5 mm; P < 0.05) was found with general fitness training. Conclusion. Specific strength training had high clinical relevance and led to marked prolonged relief in neck muscle pain. General fitness training showed only a small yet statistically significant acute pain reduction.

The present study shows that young soccer players are highly specialized both according to playing level and position on the field.

ObjectivesWe investigated whether musculoskeletal fitness of school children aged 8–10 years was affected by frequent intense PE sessions.Design and participants295 Danish school children aged 8–10 years were cluster randomised to a small-sided ball game group (SSG) (n=96, four schools, five classes), a circuit strength training group (CST) (n=83, four schools, four classes) or a control group (CON, n=116, two schools, five classes).InterventionSSG or CST was performed 3×40 min/week over 10 months. Whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were used to determine areal bone mineral density (aBMD), bone mineral content (BMC) and lean body mass (LBM). Flamingo balance, standing long jump and 20-m sprint tests were used to determine muscular fitness.ResultsAnalysis of baseline-to-10 months change scores showed between-group differences in favour of the interventions in whole-body aBMD (SSG vs CON: 8 mg/cm2, 95% CI 3 to 13; CST vs CON: 7 mg/cm2, 95% CI 2 to 13, p<0.05) and leg BMC (SSG vs CON: 11 g, 95% CI 4 to 18; CST vs CON: 11 g, 95% CI 3 to 18, p<0.05). SSG had higher change scores in leg aBMD compared with CON and CST (SSG vs CON: 19 mg/cm2, 95% CI 11 to 39, p<0.05; SSG vs CST: 12 mg/cm2, 95% CI 3 to 21, p<0.05), and CST had higher change scores in whole-body BMC compared with CON (CST vs CON: 25 g, 95% CI 10 to 39, p<0.05). Both training types resulted in higher change scores in postural balance (SSG vs CON: 2.4 fewer falls/min, 95% CI 0.3 to 4.5, CST vs CON: 3.6 fewer falls/min, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.9, p<0.05) and jump length (SSG vs CON: 10%, 95% CI 5 to 16%; CST vs CON: 9%, 95% CI 3 to 15%, p<0.05). No between-group differences were observed for sprint performance or LBM (p>0.05).ConclusionsIn conclusion, 3×40 min/week with SSG or CST over a full school year improves bone mineralisation and several aspects of muscular fitness of children aged 8–10 years, suggesting that well-organised intense physical education classes can contribute positively to develop musculoskeletal health in young children.Trial registration numberNCT02000492, post results.

The present study investigated the cardiac effects of a 10-week football training intervention for school children aged 9-10 years using comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography as a part of a larger ongoing study. A total of 97 pupils from four school classes were clusterrandomized into a control group that maintained their usual activities (CON; two classes, n = 51, 21 boys and 30 girls) and a football training group that performed an additional 3 × 40 min of small-sided football training per week (FT; two classes, n = 46, 23 boys and 23 girls). No baseline differences were observed in age, body composition, or echocardiographic variables between FT and CON. After the 10-week intervention, left ventricular posterior wall diameter was increased in FT compared with CON [0.4 ± 0.7 vs −0.1 ± 0.6 (± SD) mm; P < 0.01] as was the interventricular septum thickness (0.2 ± 0.7 vs −0.2 ± 0.8 mm; P < 0.001). Global isovolumetric relaxation time increased more in FT than in CON (3.8 ± 10.4 vs −0.9 ± 6.6 ms, P < 0.05) while the change in ventricular systolic ejection fraction tended to be higher (1.4 ± 8.0 vs −1.1 ± 5.5%; P = 0.08). No changes were observed in resting heart rate or blood pressure. In conclusion, a short-term, school-based intervention comprising smallsided football sessions resulted in significant structural and functional cardiac adaptations in pre-adolescent children.

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess changes in myalgic trapezius activation, muscle oxygenation, and pain intensity during repetitive and stressful work tasks in response to 10 weeks of training. In total, 39 women with a clinical diagnosis of trapezius myalgia were randomly assigned to: (1) general fitness training performed as leg-bicycling (GFT); (2) specific strength training of the neck/shoulder muscles (SST) or (3) reference intervention without physical exercise. Electromyographic activity (EMG), tissue oxygenation (near infrared spectroscopy), and pain intensity were measured in trapezius during pegboard and stress tasks before and after the intervention period. During the pegboard task, GFT improved trapezius oxygenation from a relative decrease of −0.83 ± 1.48 μM to an increase of 0.05 ± 1.32 μM, and decreased pain development by 43%, but did not affect resting levels of pain. SST lowered the relative EMG amplitude by 36%, and decreased pain during resting and working conditions by 52 and 38%, respectively, without affecting trapezius oxygenation. In conclusion, GFT performed as leg-bicycling decreased pain development during repetitive work tasks, possibly due to improved oxygenation of the painful muscles. SST lowered the overall level of pain both during rest and work, possibly due to a lowered relative exposure as evidenced by a lowered relative EMG. The results demonstrate differential adaptive mechanisms of contrasting physical exercise interventions on chronic muscle pain at rest and during repetitive work tasks.