The way I worked aggravated the problem.”Mary O’Keeffe is a researcher at University College Dublin who specialises in musculoskeletal pain. She has seen how desk-bound workers like Nicola Gaffney can develop “neck pain, sore shoulders, upper back tightness, and lower back pain. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common reasons for work absence across Europe, which shows how widespread these problems can be. What should they be doing to minimise their risk of musculoskeletal pain? “Research shows that exercise — even something as simple as regular walking — is the only thing that consistently reduces the risk of musculoskeletal pain coming back once someone has had it before,” she says.

Source: Irish Examiner March 20, 2026 03:00 UTC