Investigation of the effects of mask use during rehabilitation sessions on vital signs, fatigue, pain, and speech in physiotherapists

Aim: It has been observed that the use of the mask, which has been widely used by the public after the COVID-19 pandemic, does not disturb individuals very much during rest, however, mask tolerance decreases during physical exertion. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the mask use on the factors such as pain, dyspnea, vital signs, and fatigue during the rehabilitation session of the physiotherapists who are physically active. Method: One hundred and seventeen physiotherapists, 65 women (55.60%) and 52 men (44.40%), participated in the study. In the study, after the first evaluation of the individuals, they were taken into the second evaluation at the end of the 45-minute rehabilitation session that they performed without a break. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, pain levels [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], and dyspnea status (Modified Borg Scale) were evaluated. Results: A statistically significant increase was found in the respiratory frequency, VAS-Dyspnea, VAS-Headache and VAS-Earache results after the session compared to the pre-session. (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the values of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and saturation before and after the session (p>0.05). Conclusion: It has been revealed that the use of masks increases the complaints of respiratory frequency, ear pain, headache and dyspnea in physiotherapists, and causes communication problems because it affects speech intelligibility negatively. Since these results are thought to affect negatively the success of the rehabilitation session, we think that physiotherapists should not prefer the use of masks unless necessary.