Perception of musculoskeletal disorders and other body aches among non-teaching staff of the National University of Córdoba (UNC) who teleworked during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) affect teleworkers’ health and productivity, generating cases of disability. They are multifactorial pathologies of work-related, sociocultural, and psychological etiology connected with prolonged and repetitive tasks as well as poor ergonomics. Social isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic implied major changes in work environments, including teleworking. The aim of the research was to identify musculoskeletal disorders and other body aches among non-teaching staff of the National University of Córdoba who teleworked during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A descriptive study was carried out through an online questionnaire shared by the non-teaching staff union whose members belong to different university premises. During October and November 2020, sociodemographic data, presence and location of body aches, job seniority, stress, and how teleworking had an impact on their lives were collected and analyzed with the SPSS 25 program using chi-square tests, considering a significant association when p<0.05.

Data from 94 non-teaching staff was gathered.  Of those, 58 only performed telework and were part of this study. From that group, 15.5% were men and 84.5% were women between 24 and 63 years old. Of these, 31% had over 20 years of job seniority. The percentage of workers in a sitting position during their working day compared to their situation before the pandemic was 74.1% vs 41.4%. Of those surveyed, 81% expressed they felt pain, 73.2% said they felt stressed, 37.5% answered that teleworking had a positive impact, 33.3% felt indifferent, and 29.2% said it had a negative impact. The most affected anatomical region was the cervical spine (69%), followed by the shoulders (53.4%), the lumbar spine (44.8%), and the thoracic spine (39.7%). The most frequent problems were visual -dry eye and visual fatigue (50%)-, headache (48.3%), and weight gain (39.7%). Cervical pain was associated with a feeling of stress (p=0.047), weight gain with the negative impact of teleworking (p=0.015), and no association was observed between job seniority and eye fatigue (p=0.052).

Psychological and emotional factors produced by a workplace change caused by isolation were associated with the presence of musculoskeletal disorders and body aches.