Affiliations: [a] Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade do Estado Rio de Janeiro, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [b] Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Atividade Física, Universidade Salgado de Oliveira, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [c] Programa de Pós-graduação de Ciências do Exercício e do Esporte, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [d] Laboratório de Dimensões Sociais Aplicadas à Atividade Física e ao Esporte, Departamento de Educação Física e Desportos, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Roberta A. Alves, Instituto de Medicina Social Hesio Cordeiro, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Tel.: +552123340235; E-mails: alves.roberta@posgraduacao.uerj.br, raroberta@yahoo.com.br.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The COVID-19 pandemic had major impacts on the physical lives of individuals, especially on home office workers. In this way, the practice of physical activity has been identified as an ally in the reduction and prevention of musculoskeletal pain. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the association between leisure-time physical activity and musculoskeletal pain in adult workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted with 374 workers of both sexes (age = 46.5±10.5 years). Leisure-time physical activity, number of pain sites, and musculoskeletal pain status were investigated using a questionnaire designed for the study. Statistical analysis was performed using Multinomial Logistic Regression. The significance level adopted was 5%. RESULTS:A significant association was found between physical activity status and the number of pain sites (p = 0.002). In addition, an inverse association was found between physical activity before and during the quarantine and the number of pain sites (two pain sites – OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.2–0.7; three or more pain sites – OR = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.1–0.5). Physical activity interruption during quarantine increased pain perception by 2.86 times (OR = 2.86; 95% CI = 1.0–7.5). CONCLUSIONS:The findings showed that physical activity before and during the pandemic was a protective factor for body pain during the COVID-19 pandemic.
