Assessment of the prevalence of lower back pain syndromes among students during the remote teaching period

Introduction and Objective. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the lives of students. The epidemic situation promoted the development of civilization diseases, among them lower back pain syndromes. These syndromes are the most common reasons for visits to the offices of doctors and physiotherapists The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between physical activity and the incidence of lower back pain among students of the University of Rzeszów, south-eastern Poland, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and method. A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of the University of Rzeszów. The criterion for inclusion was the current status of the student, age between 19–26 years and good general health. Persons with physical disabilities, sick and staying for the last 7 days in hospital, and pregnant women were excluded from the survey. A total of 179 responses were obtained and 176 students were included in the study. The study was conducted using an author’s questionnaire containing own questions and questions from the Polish version of the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results. The intensity of lower back pain had no statistically significant effect on the metabolic equivalent measured by the IPAQ questionnaire. Decreased physical activity in the study group resulted in a statistically significant change in body weight. Year of study had a statistically significant effect on the onset of lower back pain. Conclusions. The level of lower back pain does not affect the physical activity of the students in the study. The field of study had a significant influence on physical activity. The duration of lower back pain in the study group had a significant effect on the level of pain in the VAS scale.