Research Article High Intensity Physical Exercise and Pain in the Neck and Upper Limb among Slaughterhouse Workers: Cross-Sectional Study Emil Sundstrup, 1,2 Markus D. Jakobsen, 1,2 Kenneth Jay, 1,2 Mikkel Brandt, 1 and Lars L. Andersen 1 1 National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark 2 Institute for Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark Correspondence should be addressed to Emil Sundstrup; esu@nrcwe.dk Received 22 November 2013; Accepted 20 December 2013; Published 9 January 2014 Academic Editor: David G. Behm Copyright © 2014 Emil Sundstrup et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Slaughterhouse work involves a high degree of repetitive and forceful upper limb movements and thus implies an elevated risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. High intensity strength training efectively rehabilitates musculoskeletal disorders among sedentary employees, but less is known about the efect among workers with repetitive and forceful work demands. Before performing randomized controlled trials it may be benefcial to assess the cross-sectional connection between exercise and musculoskeletal pain. We investigated the association between high intensity physical exercise and pain among 595 slaughterhouse workers in Denmark, Europe. Using logistic regression analyses, odds ratios for pain and work disability as a function of physical exercise, gender, age, BMI, smoking, and job position were estimated. Te prevalence of pain in the neck, shoulder, elbow, and hand/wrist was 48%, 60%, 40%, and 52%, respectively. Te odds for experiencing neck pain were signifcantly lower among slaughterhouse workers performing physical exercise (OR = 0.70, CI: 0.49–0.997), whereas the odds for pain in the shoulders, elbow, or hand/wrist were not associated with exercise. Te present study can be used as general reference of pain in the neck and upper extremity among slaughterhouse workers. Future studies should investigate the efect of high intensity physical exercise on neck and upper limb pain in slaughterhouse workers. 1. Introduction Musculoskeletal disorders constitute the most common occupational disease in the European union and in the United States [1, 2]. Te consequences can be pervasive to both employees and society, afecting individual health and well- being, and impose a substantial socioeconomic burden due to increased sickness absence, disability pension, and loss of productivity [3–5]. Physical exposures such as repetitive and forceful muscle work, lack of sufcient recovery, precision demands, and awkward postures are risk factors for neck and upper limb musculoskeletal pain [5–7]. Slaughtering and meat processing operations involve a high degree of repetitive and forceful upper limb movements and thus implies an elevated risk of work-related muscu- loskeletal disorders [8, 9]. In line with this, the rate of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses for workers engaged in animal slaughtering is more than twice as high as the US national average, and the number of cases with days away from work, job transfer, or restriction is almost three times the national average [2]. To efectively prevent or rehabilitate musculoskeletal pain among this occupational group, the prevalence and associates of pain in the neck, shoulder, and arm must be identifed. A strategy to reduce or prevent work-related muscu- loskeletal pain may be to increase the workers physical capacity through physical exercise. Previous studies from our research group have shown promising and efective reduc- tions in neck/shoulder/arm pain in response to 10–20 weeks of kettlebell training [10, 11], strength training using elastic rubber bands [12, 13] or free weights [14–16] in ofce workers and laboratory technicians. However, ofce workers and lab- oratory technicians have less strenuous working conditions than slaughterhouse workers, and our previous fndings may Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 218546, 5 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/218546