NCT04169646: NEXpro

Prevention and Intervention of Neck Pain in Swiss Office-Workers

Completed NA Last updated 22 March 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Multi-component intervention in Neck Pain in 120 participants. Completed in 31 July 2022.

Timeline

28 October 2019

Primary endpoint
31 July 2022

31 July 2022

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	single
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	120
Start date	28 October 2019
Primary completion	31 July 2022
Estimated completion	31 July 2022
Sites	2 locations across Switzerland

Drugs / interventions tested

• Multi-component intervention
• Control

Conditions studied

• Neck Pain — all drugs for Neck Pain →
• Headache — all drugs for Headache →
• Musculoskeletal Diseases — all drugs for Musculoskeletal Diseases →
• Adherence, Patient — all drugs for Adherence, Patient →

Sponsor

Zurich University of Applied Sciences

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Neck Pain or Headache. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

This study is the first that investigates the impact of a multi-component intervention combining current evidence of effective interventions with an adherence app to assess the potential benefits on productivity, neck pain, and headache.

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. No Evidence for a Decrease in Physical Activity Among Swiss Office Workers During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study.
   Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Sjøgaard G, Johnston V, et al · · 2021 · cited 21× · PMID 33688857 · DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.620307
2. No evidence for an effect of working from home on neck pain and neck disability among Swiss office workers: Short-term impact of COVID-19.
   Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Johnston V, Sjøgaard G, et al · · 2021 · cited 20× · PMID 33817763 · DOI 10.1007/s00586-021-06829-w
3. On-site multi-component intervention to improve productivity and reduce the economic and personal burden of neck pain in Swiss office-workers (NEXpro): protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial.
   Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Johnston V, Ernst MJ, et al · · 2020 · cited 18× · PMID 32560714 · DOI 10.1186/s12891-020-03388-x
4. A Multi-component Intervention (NEXpro) Reduces Neck Pain-Related Work Productivity Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Swiss Office Workers.
   Aegerter AM, Deforth M, Volken T, Johnston V, et al · · 2023 · cited 12× · PMID 36167936 · DOI 10.1007/s10926-022-10069-0
5. Cost-utility and cost-benefit analysis of a multi-component intervention (NEXpro) for neck-related symptoms in Swiss office workers.
   Brunner B, Aegerter AM, Johnston V, Volken T, et al · · 2025 · cited 3× · PMID 39815202 · DOI 10.1186/s12889-024-21103-6
6. Effects of neck-exercise and health promotion on headache outcomes in office workers: secondary analysis of the NEXpro stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial.
   Ernst MJ, Meichtry A, Luedtke K, NEXpro collaboration group, et al · · 2025 · cited 2× · PMID 39939850 · DOI 10.1186/s10194-025-01963-y
7. Headache, not neck pain, primarily influences the extent of pain in the neck region in symptomatic office workers. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluations.
   Marchenko M, Domingues L, Barbero M, Cescon C, et al · · 2026 · PMID 41384674 · DOI 10.1080/09593985.2025.2596179
8. A multi-component intervention (NEXpro) reduces neck pain: a randomized controlled trial among Swiss office workers.
   Aegerter AM, Johnston V, Volken T, Sjøgaard G, et al · · 2026 · PMID 41037652 · DOI 10.5271/sjweh.4254