Prevalence of Neck Pain among University of Sharjah Students during COVID-19 Distanced Learning

Abstract Background: The switch into the online learning process affected the quality of students' lifestyle due to the COVID 19 pandemic and caused the development of musculoskeletal discomforts along with their impairments in the students' quality of life. Before the new learning process with the prolonged sitting in front of electronic devices, neck pain was not deemed as a serious medical issue, though now it is (Cagnie et al., 2007). Aim: Specifically, the aim is to estimate and compare the prevalence of neck pain among UOS students at the time of the COVID-19 online learning period, and to investigate the factors that caused it. Methods:It is an observational quantitative cross sectional study. Between the period of February 16th and March 12th, 2021, an online questionnaire was distributed among the UOS students to different social media platform users. Demographics and neck pain analysis data and the management of pains were collected. The SPSS 22 software was used for univariate and bivariate analysis. Results:The incidence rate, during COVID-19, was about 64.41% and the prevalence of neck pain was 62.7% among 325 UOS students. The mean NDI score was 19.19. The most common pain locus was A: Back of neck (38.77%). Resultantly, prolonged sitting (81.23%) when neck is leaned forward is reported to be the most common cause of neck pain by participants (Al-Hadidi et al., 2019). Hoy et al. (2010) found that the most important factors on the NDI were lifting, personal care, headaches, concentration, sleeping, recreational activities, reading, anxiousness and depression and working. Also, subjects without seeking medical attention had significant NDI scores. Conclusion:This research analyzes how prevelency of neck pain among UOS students, which is used to indicate the prevalence of neck pain because of changes of postures and running time of elearning, fills gaps of limitations in previously published articles. Future studies regarding neck pain and further preventative measures should be catalysed in the UAE (Dieleman et al., 2016). Keywords: Neck pain, COVID-19, Distanced learning, NDI