The relationship between leisure time activities and chronic musculoskeletal pain in schoolteachers

Leisure activities (LAs) have a positive effect on well-being, healthy aging, cognitive functions, physical function, and mental health.

To determine the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) in schoolteachers and evaluate the relationship between different types of LAs and CMSP.

A total of 433 in-service schoolteachers (303 female, 130 male) participated in this cross-sectional study between January 2023 and March 2023 using an online survey. Common LAs in Turkey, including reading books/magazines/newspapers or writing stories/letters, leisure physical activities (PAs), computer-based LAs, television viewing, LAs on smartphones, music listening, going to the cinema/theatre/opera/ballet/concert, gardening, cooking meal/pastry, meeting with friends, and painting/marbling/ceramic/knitting, and their durations were recorded.

The median age of the participants was 38.0 (IQR, 35.0-45.0) years. The prevalence of CMSP was 44.8%. Multiple logistic regression analysis including age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, weekly standing duration at work, and LAs showed that there was an inverse relationship between CMSP and PAs (OR = 0.564, 95% CI: 0.357-0.890) and listening to music (OR = 0.555, 95% CI: 0.317-0.973). Moreover, LAs on smartphones (OR = 4.318, 95% CI: 2.004-9.308), gardening (OR = 1.827, 95% CI: 1.097-3.043), and having a thyroid disorder (OR = 2.212, 95% CI: 1.045-4.684) were predictive variables for CMSP.

Considering that PAs and music listening are inversely associated with CMSP, it may be beneficial to make them a part of the lifestyle of both healthy individuals and individuals with CMSP. Physicians should also be aware that LAs on smartphones carry a greater risk for CMSP.