Recreational cyclists often participate in events that exceed their usual activity levels, increasing the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort. Reduced flexibility is a contributing factor, yet no studies have examined mobility interventions to address this issue. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of a 6-week pre-event mobility intervention on musculoskeletal discomfort scores, the number of participants reporting discomfort by body region, and active flexibility in recreational cyclists participating in a two-day, 250-km ride. Fifteen participants were allocated to a control group (n = 7), maintaining their usual training, or an intervention group (n = 8), completing the mobility intervention. All participants completed questionnaires and flexibility tests before and after the intervention. The intervention group showed a significant reduction in musculoskeletal discomfort scores (12 [4.3] pre vs 4.5 [3.5] post; p = 0.029), whereas no significant change was observed in the control group (10 [13.0] vs 12 [11.0]; p = 0.446). The number of participants reporting discomfort by body region increased in the control group but remained stable in the intervention group, with no significant between-group difference (MD = 1.2; p = 0.052). Greater improvements in active flexibility were observed in the intervention group for the posterior chain (MD = -8.6; t = -2.663; p = 0.013), while flexibility of the soleus decreased in both groups but declined less in the intervention group (MD = -2.8; t = -2.146; p = 0.041). These findings suggest that adding mobility intervention before a recreational cycling event may reduce discomfort and support flexibility.

Objectives. This research aimed to describe the distribution and occurrence of work-related collisions involving paramedics across Quebec and compare these results with collisions of general vehicles. Methods. This retrospective study spanned 11 years of data (2010-2020) extracted from Soci & eacute;t & eacute; de l'assurance automobile du Qu & eacute;bec (SAAQ) road safety statistics. Statistical tests including a paired t test and the Mann-Kendall test were used for temporal analysis of aggregated numbers of injury and non-injury collisions in 17 regions of Quebec. A descriptive analysis and logit regression were used to compare the various factors, e.g., crash and environmental characteristics associated with ambulance and general vehicle collisions. Results. A higher percentage of ambulance collisions occurred at intersections (43.32%), in 50 km/h speed limit zones (48.29%), in commercial areas (48.29%) and on all types of two-way roads (62.05%). Logit models indicate that there is a significant association (p < 0.05) between collision severity and a variety of factors, including asphalt conditions, collision types and locations. Conclusion. The study results are consistent with prior research showing that Quebec paramedics have comparable incidents and collision causes related to environmental, weather and road factors. Our findings suggest several specific areas for policymakers to focus on regarding ambulance collision reduction.

Background and Objectives: While shoulder injuries represent the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) most encountered in physical therapy, there is no consensus on their management. In attempts to provide standardized and personalized treatment, a robotic-assisted device combined with EMG biofeedback specifically dedicated to shoulder MSDs was developed. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of an 8-week rehabilitation program (3 sessions a week) using a robotic-assisted device combined with EMG biofeedback (RA-EMG group) in comparison with a conventional program (CONV group) in patients presenting with shoulder MSDs. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study including data from 2010 to 2013 on patients initially involved in a physical rehabilitation program in a private clinic in Chicoutimi (Canada) for shoulder MSDs. Shoulder flexion strength and range of motion were collected before and after the rehabilitation program. Forty-four patients participated in a conventional program using dumbbells (CONV group), while 73 completed a program on a robot-assisted device with EMG and visual biofeedback (RA-EMG group); both programs consisted of two sets of 20 repetitions at 60% of maximal capacity. Results: We showed that the RA-EMG had significantly greater benefits than the CONV group for shoulder flexion strength (4.45 [2.6;6.15] kg vs. 2.3 [0.90;4.775] kg, U = 761, p = 0.013) and for normalized strength (77.5 [51.3;119.1] % vs. 39.1 [16.6;89.2] %, U = 755, p = 0.016). In addition, the RA-EMG group showed a trend to greater absolute gain of ROM than the CONV group (10.0 [0;24.3] degrees vs. 5.5 [0;12.0] degrees, U = 1931, p = 0.067), and a greater benefit in normalized ROM was observed for the RA-EMG (7.4. [0;17.7] %) than the CONV group (4.6 [0;10.8], U = 1907, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The current retrospective cohort study showed that a specific and tailored 8-week rehabilitation program with constant effort by automatic adjustment of the level of resistance by EMG feedback induced greater benefits for shoulder flexion strength and a trend to improve range of motion compared to conventional rehabilitation in patients with shoulder MSDs. Future research should be pursued to determine the added potential of this approach for abduction and external rotation with a randomized controlled design.

Health professionals are regularly confronted with patients suffering from a fear of movement-related pain (unknown as kinesiophobia). The fear-avoidance attitudes and beliefs of healthcare professionals are likely to play a key role in their patients’ therapeutic approach. However, kinesiophobia among health professionals is a relatively young topic. This scoping review aims to explore and catalogue the extent of scientific research that identifies the causes and consequences of kinesiophobia among health professionals while they perform their interventions. The review was based on the Joanna Briggs Institute manual and the PRISMA method for a scoping review. The research was conducted in May 2024 using CINHAL, Medline and Sportdiscus databases with the search terms “fear-avoidance”, ”kinesiophobia“, “pain-related” and “physical therapist”. Out of 2,162 potential studies, thirteen articles were included. No study directly mentioned kinesiophobia among health professionals, but it was studied through fear-avoidance beliefs. Two-thirds of the articles indicate that professionals with fear-avoidance beliefs tend to refer their patients to other specialists less frequently and limit their patients’ activity, despite treatment guidelines. Most of the studies found were physiotherapists’ interventions for chronic back pain patients. The current review emphasizes the need for additional studies involving more healthcare professionals and diverse health conditions.

Lobstering industry workers are known to have poor overall health and low safety records, but there is still a gap in information concerning Canadian lobster fishers. This study aimed to report occupational health and safety characteristics of an Atlantic Canada community of lobster fishers and to assess differences between captains and deckhands. Twenty-eight participants (10 captains, 18 deckhands) were questioned and self-reported on lifestyle, general health status, work-related musculoskeletal disorders and traumatic injuries. The data collected reveal both groups' high prevalence of cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal health issues. Captains reported more occupational exposition and health issues, and showed poorer lifestyle habits than deckhands. Fishers reported potential solutions to reduce occupational risks, presented as three types: lifestyle, working behaviours and leadership. This study evaluated a community of Canadian lobster fishers regarding their occupational health and safety. Potential avenues for mitigating occupational risk specific to this community will nurture future implementation.

Background: Ambulance drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal or injury collisions compared to other professional drivers. Study Objective: This study is a retrospective study aimed to describe factors involved in paramedics’ collisions. Method: Spanning over 10 years of data (2010-2019) from a paramedic agency covering Montreal (Qc, Canada), links between the number of ambulance injuries and non-injury collisions and diverse characteristics like experience, sex, and age of paramedics, day and time of the collision, weather and surface conditions, type of environment, and type of driving activity. The distribution of characteristics involved in the severity of collisions is presented with descriptive analysis. The evaluation of trends of monthly and yearly ambulance collisions is conducted using the Mann-Kendal test. The logit model is also used to examine the effect of such factors on the odds of collision severity. Results: The results show although there is no significant reduction trend for the monthly ambulance collisions, the trend of incidence of annual non-injury collisions per paramedic is significantly decreasing. Also, young drivers with less experience are more involved in multiple collisions compared to their experienced colleagues. Furthermore, 62% of injury collisions happened when paramedics are responding to an emergency call. The logit model confirms a decrease in the odds of injury collisions (odds ratio: 0.48) during non-emergency activities. Also, intersections and traffic lights are the riskiest locations regarding injury collisions (43.5%, and 51%, respectively). In this case, collisions occurring at traffic lights can increase the odds of severity by 597%. Conclusion: This study exemplifies that preventive policy regarding paramedics (e.g., training programs) should focus on younger and less experienced paramedics, and risky locations, especially while driving on emergency calls. More oriented awareness and training programs for emergency respondents are required to reduce the number of work-related collisions.

Les médias sociaux sont omniprésents dans la culture actuelle, et le milieu de la santé et sécurité au travail (SST) n’y fait pas exception. Utilisée pour documenter divers phénomènes sociaux, la plateforme Instagram permettrait une collecte de données autrement difficiles d’accès dans des contextes où les observations terrain sont difficiles, par exemple lors d’interventions d’urgence. Malgré le nombre limité d’études portant sur cette plateforme, particulièrement lorsqu’elles sont appliquées aux premiers répondants, les recherches démontrent différents avantages liés à l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux dans un contexte de prévention et de promotion de la SST. Cet article vise à identifier les opportunités que représente la plateforme Instagram à des fins de prévention et de promotion de la SST, et à explorer les potentielles limites de son utilisation dans le monde du travail. De plus amples recherches sont nécessaires tant sur le plan méthodologique que de l’utilisation afin d’encadrer cette nouvelle approche.

LAY SUMMARY Police officers are exposed to multiple risks that increase the prevalence of low back pain. Few interventions have been tailored to help with prevention of low back pain. This systematic literature review aimed to analyze interventions done with civilian or military police officers for this ongoing problem and to identify solutions to help alleviate low back pain in this population. Approaches in the literature regarding police officers and low back pain included an analysis of equipment in patrol vehicles, equipment worn by police officers, and individual factors, such as physical condition and mental state. Findings show multiple methods that can be used to further study low back pain among police officers and reduce its burden.

BACKGROUND: It is well-known that psychosocial health status of paramedics may be altered by their job demands. However, it is unknown whether psychosocial health status can affect occupational performance. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to explore whether a paramedic’s symptom severity of Occupational Stress Injury (OSI) was related to simulated patient-care performance. METHODS: Nineteen paramedics with 15.0±8.7 years of paramedic experience participated in this study. Participants completed both an OSI symptom severity questionnaires, and a patient-care simulation. Vagal activity was also collected during the patient-care simulation. The simulation was used to assess experienced paramedics in a realistic stressful setting. Based on the provincial standard in New Brunswick, an experienced paramedic instructor graded the patient-care simulation using the provincial standard charts, observing performance videos and assessing data from the manikin. RESULTS: The current study suggests that paramedics who self-reported elevated symptoms of OSI were less likely to successfully complete the simulated patient-care scenario. CONCLUSION: This research suggests that the presence of self-reported elevated symptoms of OSI negatively impacts paramedics’ performance during a stressful work task simulation. Therefore, to help paramedics maintain optimal performance, it may be important to ensure that paramedics have access to appropriate resources to monitor and improve their psychosocial health.

Au Québec, les accidents de travail mortels donnent lieu à une enquête de la Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) dans le but de comprendre l’accident et d’émettre des directives pour empêcher la survenue d’éventuels accidents de même type. Ces rapports constituent une importante source d’information légale pour que l’employeur puisse reprendre ses activités. Cependant, puisque ces rapports visent principalement l’identification d’un problème, leur apport en prévention et en innovation pourrait être limitant afin d’améliorer la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs utilisant un véhicule roulant. Notre recherche a pour objectif d’analyser les différents rapports d’accident mortel comprenant un véhicule roulant de 2013 à 2017 selon la méthode STAMP et l’outil d’analyse CAST, puis de documenter, à l’aide de la matrice de Haddon, l’interaction entre les différents facteurs (humain, véhicule, environnement) qui génèrent de tels accidents. Nous dresserons un bilan plus approfondi des connaissances portant sur le contexte réel du travailleur et des phénomènes de sécurité qui l’entourent avant un accident, puis en ressortirons des recommandations et des pistes de prévention afin de réduire les mortalités reliées aux véhicules roulants.

In the literature, little is known about the vagal response during exposure to a sit-stand workstation. This study measured the vagal response to exposure to a dynamic workstation that moved between sitting and standing heights for different regular durations and documented sex-related response. Fourteen workers (43.6 ± 4.0 years of age; 16.1 ± 4.1 years of experience) who work normally with computers (seven women, seven men of working age) were exposed to a dynamic workstation in their everyday office work environment. Heart rate variability (HRV) was used to measure the vagal activity with SD1, SD2 and MeanRR indicators, and questionnaires measured musculoskeletal health. Indicator of overall physiological response (HRV) to a dynamic workstation appears to be related to sex among a cohort of experienced office workers, where women showed a higher vagal response than men, and men had a decrease in body regions with musculoskeletal discomfort. More attention should provide to sex-specific responses to a dynamic workstation.

Regular standing interruptions to sedentary work are recommended, but their dosage is understudied. To measure perception variations associated with different sit:stand ratios, 16 people used six ratios (30:0, 27:3, 24:6, 21:9, 18:12 and 15:15) within 30-min cycles in their normal office environment. At start and end of each workday, study participants recorded their perception of 11 factors on a 10-point scale. Musculoskeletal discomfort in 10 body regions was measured before and after exposure to sit-stand ratios. Overall preferred ratios were recorded. Sit:stand ratio affected all perceived factors, with impact varying. Standing at least 6 min improved results most overall; however, individual perceived factors were least impacted by any of 30:0, 27:3, 24:6 or 21:9. Preferred sit:stand ratios were 15:15, 18:12 and 21:9. Typically, least liked ratios involved briefest standing (30:0, 27:3, 24:6) although two participants least liked 15:15. Understanding these variations contributes to appropriate standing dosage recommendations.

Sixteen full-time office-based workers were exposed to extended periods working with regularly sit-stand changing table surface. The angular adduction and flexion deviations of upper arms (mousing and keying), thighs and shins were measured with 2-D inclinometers and average value calculated over one hour. Comparing average segmental deviation from standing neutral showed significant variations across the study population. Mousing arm was affected by exposure, reducing average deviation significantly from Pre to Post exposure to regular sit-stand changes. Only right shin adduction varied significantly across Pre, Post and 0% standing conditions, whereas more lower limb segment deviations changed significantly across the different standing durations. Left (but not right) thigh adduction and flexion deviations varied significantly across sit-stand conditions varying from 0% to 50% standing. Flexion of both right and left shins varied significantly, but only right shin adduction varied significantly across these same sit-stand conditions. Considering Pre-Post, Pre-Post-0% standing and five alternating sit-stand periods, shin flexion and left thigh abduction conditions significantly varied but differently. The greatest number of significant segmental angular variations occurred when considering 0% to 50% standing, although those have been ignored by previous studies which report only upper body and trunk posture angles.

Despite its industry’s importance and its impact on its community, commercial fishing did not receive much attention from the researchers. Little is understood about accident causations and safety issues among fishermen and their vessels. The paper’ objective was to develop a conceptual framework based on accident analysis models and safety issues, adapted to commercial fishing activities. In this paper, Haddon matrix was used to conceptualize a “man overboard” accident which represents the primary cause of death among marine fisheries’ workers in Canada. This reflective paper attempts to address the complex context of safety issues in the commercial fishing industry by providing a conceptual framework. This study highlights the need of a better understanding of accidental events and safety issues, hence also encouraging fellow researchers to investigate and explore further into health and safety domains.

BACKGROUND: Literature reports that paramedics represent an at-risk occupation for the development of health problems. At least half of the paramedic population presents at least one risk factor associated with a negative health condition. These reports may suffer a "mono-method bias" where most reported outcomes are based on a single screening tool approach (may attenuate or inflate the prevalence). OBJECTIVE: The current study characterizes the health status of a cohort of twenty-five experienced New Brunswick (Canadian province) paramedics. METHODS: To understand possible limitations of past research, health status was characterized using four different methods: two methods using only one health measure and two were combined methods, integrating outcomes from at least two health measures to determine the prevalence of a given health status. RESULTS: Mono-bias was observed when using the single health measure methods. The difference among the four methods highlighted that a third of the cohort seemed unaware of their health condition. This result shed additional light on paramedics' health, where a high proportion of paramedics worked without knowledge of their health conditions. Based on a two health measures combined method, it was observed that only two-fifths of the current sample had no health conditions or could otherwise be considered as a "healthy". CONCLUSIONS: Because the literature has focused on single screening methods, our results were difficult to compare. However, there was a consensus that paramedics represent an at-risk occupation comprised of health problems. This study was exploratory and should be the basis for further research.

Aging and obesity are two key areas of research as risk factors leading to motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). However, only a few studies identified obese older drivers as an at-risk population of MVC (i.e., older than 65 years old with Body Mass Index >30 kg/m(2)). This paper aims to review the literature related to aging, obesity, and MVCs. Extensive literature searches were conducted, and the results are presented in a narrative review of the literature, in order to discuss the risk for involvement in MVC as well as the solutions for this population. Extrinsic factors are components of the "built environment" that decrease road safety for this population and poor fit of the vehicle through their inappropriate design for this population. The intrinsic factors are the autonomy and the health status of the driver. Health status are challenges associated with obesity and aging that increase the prevalence of being part in a MVC and that increase risk of morbidity and mortality during or following a collision. Finally, some prevention strategies are presented for consideration. There is a need to inform public policy makers on the additional risk factors associated with aging and obesity for MVCs.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that health status of paramedics may be altered by their job demands. However, it is unknown whether health conditions have a negative impact on occupational performance. The goal of this study was to explore whether a paramedic’s health status affects performance during a patient-care simulation. More precisely, this paper aims to identify which health conditions (i.e., cardiovascular diseases (CVD), musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorders (GAD)) could be associated with negative performance. METHODS: Nineteen paramedics aged 38.2 ± 8.6 years old with 15.0 ± 8.7 years of paramedic experience participated in this study. Participants completed two assessments: i) health conditions measurements and ii) patient-care simulation. Heart rate variability (HRV), an indicator of vagal activity was collected during the patient-care simulation. The simulation was used in order to challenge experienced paramedics in a realistic setting. Based on the provincial standard of New Brunswick, an experienced paramedic instructor graded (passed or failed) the patient-care simulation using the provincial standard charts, videos and data from manikin. RESULTS: The current study suggests that only paramedics with self-reported elevated symptoms of PTSD were less likely to successfully complete the simulated patient-care scenario. An inhibition of the vagal activity was noted during the patient-care simulation among individuals identified with PTSD. No link was observed between physical health conditions (CVD, MSD) and simulated patient-care performance. Overall, paramedics who passed the patient-care simulation presented higher vagal activity during the patient assessment. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that the presence of self-reported elevated symptoms of PTSD negatively impacts paramedics’ performance during a stressful work task simulation. Therefore, to help paramedics maintain optimal performance, it may be important to ensure that paramedics have access to appropriate resources to monitor and improve their psychosocial health. Future studies should investigate more complex work tasks with larger sample sizes and more complex simulations.

BACKGROUND: Most ambulance collisions happen in emergency driving conditions and are caused by human factors. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the influence of human factors associated with time pressure, patient-care intervention, and health status on the physiological responses of simulated emergency driving tasks. METHODS: A cohort of seventeen experienced paramedics performed a battery of three simulated diving tasks. The driving tasks were a non-urgent and two urgent driving simulations (one to the scene and one to the hospital). The second urgent driving task was preceded by a patient-care simulation (unstable cardiac patient with cardiopulmonary resuscitation). RESULTS: The physiological responses between the three driving tasks were not significantly different due to time pressure and patient-care intervention. It is postulated that the physiological response of experienced paramedics was influenced by the fact that they are accustomed to handling stressful situations daily. Furthermore, it was observed that paramedics with health conditions were more physiologically aroused during the urgent driving scenarios (pre and post-intervention), suggesting they might have an elevated risk of collision when they drive with urgency. Paramedics with health conditions also had higher physiological responses for the post-intervention baseline, leading to a longer recovery time period, which might represent an elevated risk of developing chronic health problems or amplifying existing ones. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this research suggest that experienced paramedics manage the influence of time pressure and the impact of challenging patient-care well. Paramedics with health conditions represent an elevated risk of collision.

BACKGROUND: There are over 12,000 professional truck drivers in the Canadian Maritime provinces, with the majority being in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Previous studies have focused on the health of Canadian and American truck drivers but the occupational health status of truck drivers in the Maritime Provinces remains undocumented. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to provide a general, occupational health and demographic characteristics description of professional truck drivers in the Maritimes. METHODS: One-hundred and four male truck drivers from the Canadian Maritime Provinces volunteered for this study. Nine occupational health indicators were measured (seven were self-reported via questionnaire and two were physical measurements). Participants self-reported their age, years of truck driving experience and education. RESULTS: Only one-quarter of the current sample had no health conditions. In contrast, more than half were obese, one third had back problems, and one-sixth had a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). The group comparison analysis showed that the group without health condition was younger and more educated than the group with multiple health conditions. For this study, age and low rate of education were associated with an increased number of health conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to health profiles of other populations of North American truck drivers, this study suggests that the majority of truck drivers in the Canadian Maritime Provinces have at least one poor indicator of occupational health.