Effect of COVID-19 virus on Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders of Faculty Members of Yazd University

Faculty Members of the university have a fundamental role in education and its quality. Working conditions of the faculty members have made them face severe musculoskeletal disorders. The spread of the COVID-19 virus, the closure of universities and the virtual education have made working conditions of the faculty members more difficult than before. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the virus on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders of the faculty members of the university and the extraction of variables affecting the disorders.

This descriptive-survey study was conducted in 2020 on 220 faculty members of Yazd University who were selected by the simple random sampling method. Data were collected using the standardized Nordic questionnaire in two stages before and after the spread of the virus and were analyzed in SPSS 25 by paired sample t-test, independent t-test, and analysis of variance.

Musculoskeletal disorders after the spread of the virus in most organs have increased significantly, so that frequency percentage in the neck for the three campuses has increased from 36%, 40%, and 31% to 55%, 52%, and 44 %. There is a significant relationship between gender, work experience, and teaching method with the prevalence of disorders. Most disorders were in the back, neck, and knees.

A small percentage of faculty members perform sports activities and daily exercises that by planning on them can reduce the disorders. The university can also prevent the centralization of education at a specific time by dividing the virtual education during the day and week and reduce the disorders.