COVID-19S DISTANCE LEARNING IMPACT ON LOW BACK PAIN AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS OF UMM AL-QURAUNIVERSITY A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Low back pain (LBP)is a common musculoskeletal condition and represents a major concern in public health affecting diverse ages throughout the population. Medical studentsin particular havea highprevalence of LBP.During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide implemented precautionary measures to help decrease the spread of the virus and ensure public safety. Those measures include distance learning, which increased significantly in usage among medical students. Methods:We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional internet-based survey using the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire as the main tool, to assess the severity of disability due to low back pain in medical students from Umm Al-Qura university. Results:A minimal disability scorewas observed among 313(94.3%) of the medical students. The most significant risk factor was identified as family history, p value (0.022), observed in 39.9% of our population. Prolonged sitting was not significant. Conclusion:No significant link was established between prolonged sitting and LBP. Further studies are needed to investigate the effects of transitioning to distance learning among medical students.