Back pain occurred due to changes in routinary activities among Brazilian schoolteachers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Barbosa, Rose Elizabeth Cabral; Fonseca, Giovanni Campos; Souza e Silva, Nayra Suze; Silva, Rosângela Ramos Veloso; Assunção, Ada Ávila; Haikal, Desirée Sant’Ana

OBJECTIVE: This study’s main objective was to investigate the emergence of back pain as a consequence to changes in usual activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic among teachers in public schools in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 15,276 schoolteachers using an online questionnaire. The variables included sociodemographic and occupational data, health situation, habits and behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bivariate analyses using Pearson’s chi-square test and multiple analyses using Poisson regression were performed to identify the associated factors. RESULTS: About 58% of schoolteachers reported back pain due to changes in routine activities during the pandemic. The adjusted model showed a correlation between back pain and female sex, longer working hours, overwork, difficulties concerning distance working, negative changes in health status and quality of sleep; frequent feeling of sadness, depression, or anxiety; use of medications to relax, sleep or against stress/anxiety/depression; physical inactivity or negative changes in the practice of physical activities; increased body weight; reduction of leisure time; increased time of use of computer or tablet and overload of housework. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, schoolteachers reported a high prevalence of emergence of back pain, which delineates a contradiction in terms: on the one hand, distance education allows social distancing that contributes to the preservation of teachers’ health by reducing the risk of contamination by COVID-19. On the other hand, it imposes new demands that—in disagreement with working conditions—can threaten the health of these workers.