Musculoskeletal lesions work related in individuals at home office during COVID-19 pandemics

Abstract

Background: Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) or musculoskeletal diseases associated to work (MDWR) may affect muscles, tendons, nerves and all structures in spine, upper and lower limbs region. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the implementation of restrictive measures such as social isolation has brought changes to various jobs, including the change of professions originally performed in person to the home office modality. Objective: To study the profile of individuals with RSI/MDWR at home office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This work was based on questionnaires answered online. Sociodemographic data, data on working conditions; musculoskeletal symptoms; relationship of discomfort with work and quality of life by the SF-12 questionnaire (12 Item Short Health Survey) were collected. Results: One hundred and four individuals answered the questionnaire (74% women, mean age of 36±14.3%) and all had some type of work discomfort that was considered important in 29.8% and moderate in 42.3%. The most affected area was the cervical spine and shoulders region (70.1%) followed by the lumbar spine (48%), wrists and hands (42.3%) and lower limbs (20.2%). Quality of life correlated with age (p=0.03 for mental domain and p=0.0005 for physical domain) but not with the number of worked hours. Conclusion: Most work-related injuries appeared in the spine region and impaired work capacity. Age, but not the number of hours worked was associated with quality of physical and mental life.