Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain in Medical Students a Cross-Sectional Study at a Medical College in Bengaluru

Abstract Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders are one of the common health issues affecting people of various ages. The main risk factors for musculoskeletal pain are age, obesity, gender, level of education, psychosocial factors, occupational factors, decreased mobility and flexibility, and common factors such as consuming TV and video games. College students, especially medical students, are at a higher risk of these complaints as they have longer hours of studying than most faculties due to the competitiveness of their specialty Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center. Students filled-in the paper-based questionnaire. A modified version of the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was utilized in this study. Results: The results of the present study showed that the overall prevalence of Musculoskeletal pain in any body area at any time during Past 12 months was 82.29% and from past 1 week was 58.33%. Lower back and neck pain had a higher prevalence rate of 60.417% and 48.96% respectively during the past 12 months and 38.542% and 31.25% respectively during the past 1 week. The prevalence of upper back pain during the past 12 months was found to be 28.125% and 17.7% for past 1 week. Elbow pain was least reported which had a prevalence rate of 10.417% and 6.25% during the past 12 months and past 1 week respectively. Conclusion: Through our study we concluded that the proportion of musculoskeletal pain in medical students is high but there is no association between musculoskeletal pain and study hours ,gender and year of study. The cause for high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain may be mainly due to ergonomics and posture. Keywords: Musculoskeletal Pain (MSP), Medical Students, Ergonomics, Sedentary Behavior, Physical Activity, Student Health.