Investigation of the effect of low back pain on the musculoskeletal system in individuals with COVID-19 infection

ABSTRACT Background: Our study was conducted to find out the effects of low back pain, which is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19, on the musculoskeletal system. Materials and Methods: Individuals who were diagnosed with COVID-19 positive at least once in the last 2 months were included in the study. The participants were reached through Whatsapp application with the survey prepared in Google Forms format. 230 individuals between the ages of 18 and 57 who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 participated in the study. The survey form included Oswerty Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale and Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire and the participants were asked to answer the questions in the form. The participants were grouped in three different categories. Group 1 consisted of individuals between the ages of 18 and 26, Group 2 consisted of individuals between the ages of 27 and 35 and Group 3 consisted of individuals aged 36 and older. IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 package program was used in analyses. Results: As a result of the study, it was found that Oswerty Disability Index results were statistically significantly different in both male and female; Cornell Questionnaire results in Group 1 and Oswestry and Cornell Questionnaire results in Group 3 were statistically significantly different between male and female and there was a positive and weak correlation between age and Oswestry and VAS results. Conclusions: The present study showed that low back pain remains with individuals after COVID-19 infection and had negative effects on their lives