Abstract
Background:
The novel COVID-19 pandemic brought about new challenges for students at tertiary education facilities. During the COVID-19 lockdown, all educational institutions were forced to switch to online learning platforms to remain within the COVID-19 lockdown academic regulations that were put in place by the government. However, with the work-from home transition, there were trends within the levels of physical activity, time spent on electronic devices, the level of work-station ergonomics which all potentially contributed to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and pain within university students.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to compare the raw data obtained from two previous unpublished studies to determine if certain health science department students were more affected than the others by the academic regulations that were implemented on students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also aimed at highlighting the importance of ergonomics in the prevention and limitation of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) in the student population in the future.
Methods:
This secondary study was a quantitative correlation analysis of raw data collected during two previous unpublished studies conducted in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg in 2022. The previous two studies made use of an anonymous online questionnaire that was sent to students of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg. The link was sent to 1686 students from the departments of Chiropractic, Emergency Medical Care, Medical Imaging and Radiation, Optometry, Sports Management, Complementary Medicine, Podiatry and Biokinetics. The questionnaire consisted of five sections that measured varying factors that may influence MSK health. For the purpose of this study, the primary data was analysed using cross tabulations, frequency tables and custom tables.
Results:
This study found that the female sex showed the highest prevalence of MSK pain in the FHS at UJ. The Chiropractic department showed the highest prevalence of MSK pain in the FHS in the most regions of the body. Out of the different years of undergraduate study, the 3rd and 4th year participants showed the highest prevalence of MSK pain in the FHS. It was seen that 43.5% of the students continued with physical activity from time to time during the COVID-19 lockdown. The regions of the back (68.6%), neck (60.9%), lower limbs (38.2%) and head (32.4%), were the regions most
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affected by MSDs among the students in the FHS.
There was little to no difference in the severity of pain experienced before and during lockdown in the total FHS population. Poor workstation ergonomics were highly associated with higher levels of pain experienced in the regions of the neck (77.9%), back (76.5%), lower limbs (48.5%) and head (47.1%).
Conclusion:
This secondary analysis provided an overview of the prevalence of MSDs among the undergraduate students in the FHS at UJ during Covid-19 lockdown. It highlighted the prevalence of MSK pain amongst the participants across the different health science departments at UJ in the FHS. The department of Chiropractic had the highest prevalence of MSK pain. Third and 4th year participants reported the highest prevalence of MSK pain and the regions of the neck, back, head and lower limb were the regions of the body most affected by MSDs.
Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic, Lockdown, Academic regulations, Health Science Students, Musculoskeletal disorders, Musculoskeletal pain, ergonomics, physical activity.