OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of a short programme of stretching exercises on anxiety levels of workers in a Spanish logistic company. METHOD: A controlled clinical trial was carried out by means of an inter-subject design of random homogeneous blocks. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n = 67), treated with a programme of stretching exercises of 10-minute duration after working hours for a period of 3 months, or to the untreated control group (n = 67). The primary result variable was anxiety, and the secondary variables were burnout syndrome, quality of life and flexibility. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) by intention to treat was performed on each of the result variables by controlling the baseline scores, the age and the practice of introjective activities outside the program, with the size effect calculated by means of the partial eta-squared value (eta2). RESULTS: The results of the ANCOVA showed a moderate effect of the stretching exercise programme on the levels of anxiety (eta2 = 0.06; p = 0.004). Other effects found were substantial for flexibility (eta2 = 0.13; p < 0.001); moderately high for bodily pain (eta2 = 0.08; p = 0.001), and moderate for vitality (eta2 = 0.05; p = 0.016); mental health (eta2 = 0.05; p = 0.017); general health (eta2 = 0.04; p = 0.028) and exhaustion (eta2 = 0.04; p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a short programme of stretching exercises in the work place was effective for reducing levels of anxiety, bodily pain and exhaustion, and for raising levels of vitality, mental health, general health and flexibility. This type of intervention could be seen as a low-cost strategy for improving the well-being of workers.

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