Occupational Health Complaints Among Physical Education Teachers: A Scoping Review of Musculoskeletal, Vocal, Hearing, Respiratory, Injury-Related, Cardiometabolic, and Work-Limiting Outcomes

Background/Objectives: Physical education teachers play an important role in school health promotion, but their own occupational health has received limited attention. Their work involves movement demonstration, prolonged standing, equipment handling, sport participation, vocal projection, noise exposure, and outdoor or indoor environmental demands. This scoping review aimed to map evidence on occupational health complaints and disorders among physical education teachers and closely related exercise-teaching professionals meeting a functional occupational definition. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and ERIC, with ScienceDirect as an additional publisher platform. Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and reference-list screening were used as supplementary discovery sources. Records from database inception to 30 May 2026 were considered without language restrictions. School-based physical education teachers were the primary population; related gym/fitness, aquatic, university, and student-teaching professionals were eligible only when their occupational role centered on structured physical education, sport, exercise, or movement instruction. Empirical quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and eligible grey literature reports were included when they contained extractable original data. Data were charted by study characteristics, outcome domain, measurement method, and main findings; because of marked heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was performed. Results: Thirty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. School-based physical education teachers predominated, while a smaller number of studies represented related instructional settings. Musculoskeletal disorders and injury-related complaints were the most frequently reported outcomes, especially affecting the lower back, knees, ankles/feet, shoulders, neck, and hips. Vocal and laryngeal problems, hearing and noise-related complaints, respiratory and upper-airway symptoms, and cardiometabolic risk factors were also identified. Across domains, observational studies repeatedly reported associations involving physical loading, high vocal demand, noise, environmental conditions, and age or professional seniority. Because most evidence was cross-sectional or descriptive, these patterns do not establish causal relationships. Conclusions: The mapped literature identifies a multidimensional set of occupational health concerns in physical education teaching and closely related instructional work. Generalization is strongest for school-based physical education teachers, while non-school groups provide context-specific supporting evidence. Prospective, longitudinal, and intervention evidence remains limited. Future research should use longitudinal designs, standardized outcome definitions, objective clinical and environmental assessments, and clearer exposure measurement. Preventive strategies such as ergonomic training, injury prevention, vocal-health education, acoustic improvements, noise monitoring, respiratory-risk reduction, and cardiometabolic screening warrant further evaluation in this occupational population.