Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta.
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
Musculoskeletal Care. 2022 Mar;20(1):145-150. doi: 10.1002/msc.1574. Epub 2021 Jun 6.
Back pain is the commonest musculoskeletal complaint across the world. The Covid-19 pandemic led to mitigating measures including remote working that enhanced a sedentary lifestyle. The aim of this study was to investigate whether back pain complaints have increased from pre-Covid-19 to during the Covid-19 period among the adult population of Malta, while exploring the possible contributing factors.
An online survey was distributed through social media targeting the adult population of Malta. Questions on sociodemographic data, occurrence of back pain pre-Covid-19 and since the onset of Covid-19 was gathered, along with changes in behavioural attitudes, daily routine and physical activity. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.
Out of the 388 responders, 30% experienced chronic back pain pre-Covid-19, 49% experienced back pain since Covid-19, with the majority of the latter claiming that they never experienced back pain before Covid-19. Significant changes were present in daily routine and physical activity (PA) patterns. Indeed, continuously sitting down (OR: 15.53; p ≤ 0.01), no PA (OR: 4.22; p ≤ <0.01), once a week PA (OR: 5.74; p ≤ <0.01), two to three times PA a week (OR: 2.58; p = 0.05) and four to five PA a week (OR: 3.46; p = 0.02) were associated with experiencing new onset back pain since the onset of Covid-19, when adjusted for sex, age, education and employment status.
The pandemic has changed population behaviour resulting in an enhanced back pain occurrence. This is anticipated to impact the individual's disability adjusted life years as well as increase the burden on the economy and healthcare services. A designated multidisciplinary action plan is recommended to reduce back pain impact.
背痛是全世界最常见的肌肉骨骼疾病。Covid-19 大流行导致采取了缓解措施，包括远程工作，这增加了久坐的生活方式。本研究旨在调查在马耳他的成年人群中，背痛的投诉是否从新冠大流行前增加到新冠大流行期间，并探讨可能的促成因素。
通过社交媒体向马耳他成年人群体分发了一份在线调查。收集了社会人口统计学数据、新冠大流行前和新冠大流行期间背痛的发生情况，以及行为态度、日常生活和体育活动的变化情况。进行了描述性和多逻辑回归分析。
在 388 名应答者中，30%的人在新冠大流行前患有慢性背痛，49%的人在新冠大流行后患有背痛，其中大多数人表示他们在新冠大流行前从未经历过背痛。日常生活和体育活动模式发生了显著变化。事实上，持续久坐（OR：15.53；p≤0.01）、没有体育活动（OR：4.22；p≤0.01）、每周一次体育活动（OR：5.74；p≤0.01）、每周两到三次体育活动（OR：2.58；p=0.05）和每周四到五次体育活动（OR：3.46；p=0.02）与新冠大流行以来新出现的背痛有关，调整性别、年龄、教育和就业状况后。
大流行改变了人口行为，导致背痛发生率增加。这预计会影响个人的残疾调整生命年，并增加经济和医疗保健服务的负担。建议制定专门的多学科行动计划，以减少背痛的影响。
