Frequency of Neck and Back pain in young and middle aged adults of Islamabad and Rawalpindi due to usage of electronic gadgets during COVID-19 quarantine

Background: Electronic gadget usage has always been one of the root cause of back and neck torment. During COVID-19 quarantine there was increased screen time due to online working.

Objective: To determine the frequency of Neck and Back pain in young and middle aged adults due to usage of electronic gadgets during COVID -19 quarantine.

Design: A Cross-Sectional study design.

Methods: A total number of 260 participants living in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Data was collected through an online self-structured questionnaire which included, ten general questions in which participants were asked questions regarding the frequently opted posture during laptop/cellphones use. History of onset of neck and back pain were asked and two scales i-e. Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were availed to evaluate the functional limitation related to pain among people with neck pain and low back pain and Body Mass Index were evaluated in these participants.

Results: The results showed that 30.8% participants used laptop/cell phones for 6 to 8 hours while 3.5% spend time on laptop or computers for more than 8 hours. 34.2% people had neck pain during COVID-19 quarantine and 39.2% people have experienced back pain during COVID-19 quarantine.

Conclusion: This study showed that most of the participants suffered from severe neck and back pain before the inception of quarantine while a small amount of population suffered from neck and back pain during the COVID-19 quarantine.

Author(s): Shaukat M, Zafar Q, Kazmi S, Sundas Z, Zafar I and Hussain A*

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