Effect of Eight Weeks of Corrective Exercises on Musculoskeletal Pain Level in 13-15 Year-Old Students: A Clinical Trial

Background and Objective: Restrictions imposed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a decrease in physical activity levels across various age groups, particularly among students.This study aimed to determine the effect of eight weeks of corrective exercises on musculoskeletal pain levels in 13-15-year-old students.Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 101 students (44 girls and 57 boys) aged 13 to 15 experiencing musculoskeletal pain in various body parts in Bandar Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, during the second half of the academic year 2021-2022.Participants were selected based on the Adolescent Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), considering only the first question regarding the presence or absence of pain in each of the nine body regions (neck, shoulder, elbow, hand, upper back, lower back, pelvis, knee, and ankle) in the past seven days.A score of 1 was assigned to the presence of pain and 0 to the absence of pain.Participants were randomly assigned to two groups of 60: A control group and an intervention group.The intervention group performed corrective exercises at home for eight weeks, with three sessions per week, each lasting 40 minutes.No intervention was provided to the control group.Musculoskeletal pain levels in the neck, shoulder, upper back, elbow-arm, wrist, lower back, knee, and ankle were then compared in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Results:The mean and standard deviation of the total pain scores for the intervention and control groups were 1.320.41and 1.330.46 in the pre-test, 1.010.08 and 1.340.46at the post-test, and 1.170.36and 1.110.31at follow-up, respectively.Results revealed that eight weeks of corrective exercises significantly reduced musculoskeletal pain levels in the students' neck, shoulder, upper and lower back, elbow, knee, wrist, ankle, pelvis, and thigh (P<0.05);however, this improvement was not sustained at the follow-up. Conclusion:Performing corrective exercises reduced musculoskeletal pain levels in the neck, shoulder, upper and lower back, elbow, knee, wrist, ankle, and pelvis and thigh of 13-15-year-old students; however, the benefits were not sustained when the exercises were stopped.