MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS AND ITS RELATION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS SUBJECTED TO ONLINE LEARNING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction: Social isolation began in 2020 because of the new coronavirus pandemic, and online classes began as a distant learning strategy to replace classroom-based study routines. As a result, over a longer period, medical students adopted a different physical posture than usual, potentially raising the risk of musculoskeletal pain. Aim of Work: To calculate the percentage of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and its associated factors among undergraduate Ain Shams medical students subjected to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic , and to find out the association between MSD, and psychological distress including anxiety, depression and stress. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among adults aged 18 years old or more from both genders. A convenience sample of 340 medical students were included in the study through an anonymous English self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into five sections: sociodemographic characteristics, academic related and health related conditions, Standardized Nordic Questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale -21 items (DASS-21). Results: The participants mean age was 21.38 ± 1.6. Among the participants, 59.4% were females, all of them were single, and 80.7% were from urban areas. The percentage of students with musculoskeletal complaints was (53.8%) before the COVID-19 pandemic but increased to 73.1% during the pandemic. Neck pain was the most common musculoskeletal disorder with 50.6%, followed by low back pain (8.2%) in the studied sample. There were statistically significant associations between age, female gender, residence, depression, anxiety and occurrence of MSDS (p<0.05). As regards academic related characteristics, longer sitting hours per day for online studying, static head posture, and awkward posture in which the back was bent or twisted were statistically significantly associated with MSDs (p<0.05). Conclusion and Recommendations: There was an increased incidence of musculoskeletal pain among undergraduate medical students subjected to remote learning. Authorities must be aware of this health issue to develop strategies and effective initiatives, and programs.