Effects of a multicomponent intervention on occupational performance, fatigue, and well-being in sedentary office workers

BackgroundSedentary office work is associated with musculoskeletal complaints, fatigue, reduced quality of life, and limitations in everyday occupational functioning. Although exercise-based interventions may improve physical capacity, they may be less effective in addressing how workers manage daily activities in real-life contexts.ObjectiveTo examine the preliminary effects of adding an individualized occupation-based intervention to Reformer Pilates on occupational performance and related health outcomes in sedentary white-collar office workers.MethodsThis exploratory randomized controlled study included 20 sedentary office workers who completed the trial. Participants were allocated to either Reformer Pilates plus an occupation-based intervention or Reformer Pilates alone. Both groups attended supervised Reformer Pilates twice weekly for 4 weeks. The intervention group additionally received an individualized occupation-based program based on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Outcomes assessed at baseline and post-intervention included occupational performance, musculoskeletal discomfort, fatigue, quality of life, and functional performance.ResultsThe combined intervention was associated with improvements in occupational performance and satisfaction within the intervention group. In exploratory baseline-adjusted analyses, significant between-group differences favored the combined intervention for the impact of fatigue on daily activities and low back discomfort. Global fatigue and WHOQOL-BREF environment scores showed a favorable but non-significant direction of effect. Functional performance improved in both groups, with no significant between-group differences.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings suggest that integrating occupation-based strategies with Reformer Pilates may be a promising multicomponent approach for sedentary office workers. Given the exploratory design, small sample size, and short intervention duration, findings should be interpreted cautiously and examined in larger trials.