Rehabilitacja Medyczna (Jul 2022)

Relationship Between the Number of Steps Taken During Lockdown Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and Low Back Pain

  • Dariusz Boguszewski,
  • Piotr Jankowski,
  • Jakub Grzegorz Adamczyk,
  • Agata Szymańska

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0015.9277
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 3
pp. 35 – 40

Abstract

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Introduction: In 2020, the whole world was overwhelmed by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus threat. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, national governments introduced restrictions of movement in public spaces, closing schools and universities, while many companies switched to remote working. In addition to the obvious benefits of the above changes, numerous side-effects could be observed. One of them is pain in the locomotive organs caused by a sedentary lifestyle.Objective: The main objective of the study was to assess the relationship between physical activity during quarantine, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the occurrence of spinal pain.Material and methods: The study comprised 55 participants (29 women and 26 men) who attended physiotherapeutic consultations due to low back pain. For comparative purposes, they were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (n=24) included active persons, while Group 2 (n=31) consisted of inactive persons. The survey was conducted in June 2020. In the study, the reading of pedometers from mobile phones was used, as well as the Rolland-Morris Questionnaire, Laitinens Pain Scale and the authors own questionnaire. The respondents were asked to share the pedometer results from given weeks before, during and after restrictions caused by COVID-19.Results: Physically active persons (those carrying out health training) performed more steps before introduction of the restrictions (p<0.001). After their implementation, all-day activity significantly decreased in both groups. The evaluation of pain characteristics revealed significant differences (between groups) in 2 categories pain intensity and physical activity limitation. Group 2 individuals also reported greater functional limitations.Conclusion: In physically inactive people, the intensity of low back pain was much higher. This proves a relationship between activity levels and pain.

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