Has the COVID-19 outbreak altered the prevalence of low back pain among physiotherapy students?

Abbas, Janan; Hamoud, Kamal; Jubran, Rana; Daher, Amira

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among physiotherapy students during the COVID-19 lockdown in the State of Israel. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: One hundred and sixty four physiotherapy students from all four-year student levels were invited to participate. One hundred and thirty-seven students (83.5%) were recruited in the study with 79 females (57.7%) and 58 males (42.3%). We used a structured anonymous questionnaire that sought standard information on age, height, weight, sports activity and low back pain (LBP) prevalence during three periods. RESULTS: No significant differences were noted in the prevalence of LBP between the lockdown period compared to 12-month period in all four-year levels. More so, our findings showed that LBP prevalence among physiotherapy students was greater during the 12-month period compared to the lifetime period. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that COVID-19 lockdown has no negative impact on the prevalence of LBP among physiotherapy students.