Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercises, Islamic Azad University Astara Branch, Astara, Iran

2 Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

3 Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

5 Hearing Disorders Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

Abstract

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the largest disruption in
education systems in human history. The use of online teaching increased daily,
finally affecting more than 200 million students worldwide. The aim of the
present study was to compare the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in female
students during the Covid-19 pandemic with the pre-pandemic period.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in two stages: before
the Covid-19 pandemic (October to December 2019) and during the
Covid-19 pandemic (January to February 2020). The Nordic Musculoskeletal
Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the musculoskeletal pain points.
Data was analyzed using the t-test, McNemar test, and logistic regression in
SPSS ver. 22, and a P<0.05 was considered as the significance level.
Results: A significant decrease in the hours of physical activity (PA) was observed
during the pandemic (3.17±2.17 hours/week) (P<0.001) compared to the prepandemic
period (4.76±4.92 hours/week), and a significant increase in hours of
using e-learning aids was seen during the pandemic (45.29±23.24 hours/week)
compared to the pre-pandemic period (13.01) (P<0.001). The McNemar test
revealed a significant difference in musculoskeletal pain in nine areas before and
during the Covid-19 pandemic (P<0.001). The results of the regression test also
showed that increasing the hours of online teaching and decreasing the hours of
PA increased the odds ratios of increasing musculoskeletal pain.
Conclusion: Based on the present results, changing the teaching method during
the Covid-19 pandemic and reducing physical activity has led to an increase in
musculoskeletal pain in students.

Keywords

1.Lipton R, Schwedt T, Friedman B. GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016;388:1545-602.
2.Shamsedini A, Hellisaz M, Dalvand H, Khatibi A, Sobhani V. The investigation of prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and discomfort caused by them in students of Tehran. 2011.
3.Babakhani F, Hatefi M, Heydarain M, Barzegar M. Comparison of Changes in Center of Pressure and Time to Stabilization in Students with and without Hyperlordosis. Journal of Sport Biomechanics. 2018;4(3):62-73.
4.Azabagic S, Spahic R, Pranjic N, Mulic M. Epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders in primary school children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Materia socio-medica. 2016;28(3):164.
5.Mwaka ES, Munabi IG, Buwembo W, Kukkiriza J, Ochieng J. Musculoskeletal pain and school bag use: a cross-sectional study among Ugandan pupils. BMC research notes. 2014;7(1):1-7.
6.Mohd Azuan K, Zailina H, Shamsul B, Nurul Asyiqin M, Mohd Azhar M, Syazwan Aizat I. Neck, upper back and lower back pain and associated risk factors among primary school children. J Appl Sci. 2010;10(5):431-5.
7.Silva AG, Sa-Couto P, Queirós A, Neto M, Rocha NP. Pain, pain intensity and pain disability in high school students are differently associated with physical activity, screening hours and sleep. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2017;18(1):1-11.
8.Fuglkjær S, Dissing KB, Hestbæk L. Prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal extremity complaints in children and adolescents. A systematic review. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2017;18(1):1-18.
9.Salehi Sadati SS, Haghgoo HA, Mortazavi Z, Naderifar H, Mortazavi SS. Revalence of musculoskeletal disorder and association with general health status in boroujen beekeepers 1397. Occupational Medicine Quarterly Journal. 2019;11(2):17-25.
10.Grimes P, Legg S. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in school students as a risk factor for adult MSD: a review of the multiple factors affecting posture, comfort and health in classroom environments. J Hum Environ Syst. 2004;7(1):1-9.
11.Jacobs K, Baker NA. The association between children's computer use and musculoskeletal discomfort. Work. 2002;18(3):221-6.
12.Sohrabi C, Alsafi Z, O'neill N, Khan M, Kerwan A, Al-Jabir A, et al. World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Int J Surg. 2020;76:71-6.
13.Patel NP, Sheth MS. Comparison of Musculoskeletal Disorders in School Going Children Before and After COVID-19.
14.Jafari-Nodoushan A, Bagheri G. Effect of COVID-19 virus on Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders of Faculty Members of Yazd University. Iran J Ergon. 2020;8(3):1-12.
15.Layuk S, Martiana T, Bongakaraeng B. School bag weight and the occurrence of back pain among elementary school children. JPHR. 2020;9(2).
16.Shamsoddini A, Hollisaz M, Sobhani V, Khatibi E, Amanellahi A. The Frequency of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Students of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. QUMSJ. 2012;6(2):31-6.
17.Barati AH, Naderifar H. Return to Sports Activities in athletes with Covid-19 with a Cardiovascular Approach. SSU_Journals. 2020;28(10):3086-91.
18.Hadi AM, Dawood H, Abdul-Wahhab RD, Shari FH, Ahmed GS. Detrimental effects of quarantine, social lockdown and other social suffers due to Covid–19 pandemic on human health aspects. IJPR. 2021;13(2).
19.Kim H-J, Kim J-S. The relationship between smartphone use and subjective musculoskeletal symptoms and university students. JPTS. 2015;27(3):575-9.
20.Woo EH, White P, Lai CW. Musculoskeletal impact of the use of various types of electronic devices on university students in Hong Kong: An evaluation by means of self-reported questionnaire. Manual therapy. 2016;26:47-53.
21.Shan Z, Deng G, Li J, Li Y, Zhang Y, Zhao Q. Correlational analysis of neck/shoulder pain and low back pain with the use of digital products, physical activity and psychological status among adolescents in Shanghai. Plos one. 2013;8(10):e78109.
22.Fares J, Fares MY, Fares Y. Musculoskeletal neck pain in children and adolescents: risk factors and complications. SNI. 2017;8.
23.Gustafsson E, Thomée S, Grimby-Ekman A, Hagberg M. Texting on mobile phones and musculoskeletal disorders in young adults: a five-year cohort study. Applied ergonomics. 2017;58:208-14.
24.Epidemiology IAftSoPTFo, Crombie IK. Epidemiology of pain: a report of the Task Force on Epidemiology of the International Association for the Study of Pain: IASP press; 1999.
25.Gupta R, Grover S, Basu A, Krishnan V, Tripathi A, Subramanyam A, et al. Changes in sleep pattern and sleep quality during COVID-19 lockdown. Indian journal of psychiatry. 2020;62(4):370.
26.Phansopkar P, Naqvi WM, Kumar K. Musculoskeletal check in smartphone overuse in COVID 19 Lockdown phase. IJRPS. 2020:438-41.
27.Straker L, Harris C, Joosten J, Howie EK. Mobile technology dominates school children’s IT use in an advantaged school community and is associated with musculoskeletal and visual symptoms. Ergonomics. 2018;61(5):658-69.
28.Yue P, Liu F, Li L. Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain among school teachers in China, prevalence and risk factors. BMC public health. 2012;12(1):1-8.
29.Ko K, Kim H-S, Woo J-H. The study of muscle fatigue and risks of musculoskeletal system disorders from text inputting on a smartphone. JESK. 2013;32(3):273-8.
30.Mohammadi SF, Amiri MA, Naderifar H, Rakhshi E, Vakilian B, Ashrafi E, et al. Vision Examination Protocol for Archery Athletes Along with an introduction to sports visión. AsJSM. 2016;7(1).
31.Organization WH. Global recommendations on physical activity for health: World Health Organization; 2010.
32.Miranda H, Viikari-Juntura E, Martikainen R, Takala E, Riihimäki H. A prospective study of work related factors and physical exercise as predictors of shoulder pain. OEM. 2001;58(8):528-34.
33.Currier D, Lindner R, Spittal MJ, Cvetkovski S, Pirkis J, English DR. Physical activity and depression in men: Increased activity duration and intensity associated with lower likelihood of current depression. Journal of affective disorders. 2020;260:426-31.
34.Chen P, Mao L, Nassis GP, Harmer P, Ainsworth BE, Li F. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): The need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions. JSHS. 2020;9(2):103.
35.Ghasemi S, Naghiloo Z, Soleimani Rad M. Effect of virtual education conditions on musculoskeletal status and physical activity of university professors during the Corona Pandemic. SJRM 2021;10(1):175-85.
36.Siivola SM, Levoska S, Latvala K, Hoskio E, Vanharanta H, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S. Predictive factors for neck and shoulder pain: a longitudinal study in young adults. Spine. 2004;29(15):1662-9.