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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Apr 11;19(8):4599.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19084599.

COVID-19 Pandemic Increases the Impact of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis

Giuseppe Francesco Papalia  1 , Giorgia Petrucci  1 , Fabrizio Russo  1 , Luca Ambrosio  1 , Gianluca Vadalà  1 , Sergio Iavicoli  2 , Rocco Papalia  1 , Vincenzo Denaro  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

COVID-19 Pandemic Increases the Impact of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis

Giuseppe Francesco Papalia et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

In March 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the COVID-19 pandemic as a global issue. To reduce the spread of this disease, health safety pathways were implemented worldwide. These extraordinary measures changed people's lifestyles, e.g., by being forced to isolate, and in many cases, to work remotely from home. Low back pain (LBP), the most common cause of disability worldwide, is often a symptom of COVID-19. Moreover, it is often associated with different lifestyle features (type of job, physical activity, body weight). Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on LBP intensity and prevalence compared with LBP rates before the pandemic. A systematic search was performed on Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane Central. Overall, eight studies with 2365 patients were included in the analysis. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool to evaluate the risk of bias: six studies (75%) were at moderate risk of bias and two studies (25%) were at low risk of bias. These studies showed an increase in both the prevalence and intensity of LBP during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown experience; low back pain; pain management; pandemic; physical activity; prevalence; remote working.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA 2020).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Low back pain intensity. Before versus during the pandemic [32,33,34,35,36,39].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Low back pain prevalence. Before versus during the pandemic [34,36,37,38].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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