Onset and Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Undergraduate Health Science Students at the University of Johannesburg During the COVID-19 Regulations

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the onset and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in undergraduate students from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This was an explorative cross-sectional survey. The sample consisted of 106 Faculty of Health Sciences students recruited through 4 departments. The study was conducted through Google Forms and made use of a questionnaire that was adapted from 2 existing questionnaires, namely “Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle in University Students: Changes During Confinement Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic” and “Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ).” Variables that were tested included dietary changes, habitual and activity changes, perceived MSK health before COVID-19 and during COVID-19 restrictions, and the development and regional distribution of MSD. Data were analyzed using frequency tables for single-response questions, custom tables for multiple responses and Likert-type questions, summary statistics to analyze continuous variables, and paired samples t tests to analyze statistically significant differences in MSK health before and during the COVID-19 lockdown periods.

Results

Prior to the implementation of the institutional academic restrictions, 33.0% of respondents reported having no MSD, while 67.0% reported already having had an MSD present. The prevalence of new MSD in descending order by region were back (78.3%), neck (71.7%), head (41.5%), lower limb (27.4%), pelvis and perineum (20.8%), thorax/chest (12.3%), abdomen (12.3%), and upper limb (11.3%). Of these new-onset MSD, 11.3% were induced by physical trauma, while 76.4% were not from any form of physical trauma. Of the 106 participants, 28 stated that their MSK health deteriorated over the 2 compared points in time, 18 remained unchanged, and 60 showed improvement in MSK health.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that even though students had MSD before the pandemic lockdown restrictions, new conditions were recorded as developing during the restricted period. Complaints of new-onset back, neck, and head pain were reported the most, although overall, MSK health appeared to have improved.