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Objective: In 2020, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) became the cause of a pandemic. In response, the Japan Sports Agency issued warnings about secondary damage to health, such as the threat to physical and mental well-being due to the lack of exercise in this situation. In this study, we report on cross-sectional and longitudinal examinations of standing trunk flexion to evaluate how temporary long-term school closures affected musculoskeletal function in elementary school students.Patients and Methods: All children in one public elementary school in T-city during the school years 2019 and 2020 were included in this study. A digital forward flexion meter was used to measure standing trunk flexion.Results: In this study, 284 (284/289: 98.3%) and 266 (266/274: 97.1%) children in school years 2020 and 2019, respectively, were found to have valid data for cross-sectional analysis. The standing trunk flexion did not show significant differences between grades or sexes. In the longitudinal analysis, the results of the comparison of standing trunk flexion in children for two consecutive years revealed significant differences only between grades 3 and 4 (P<0.05) and between girls in grades 3 and 4 (P<0.01), but no significant differences in other grades or among boys or girls were observed.Conclusion: Initially, we expected that there would be a difference in the results of functional assessment using standing trunk flexion depending on the period of absence from school. However, the results of this study showed no significant changes in standing trunk flexion. Moreover, since children’s musculoskeletal functions may be affected by various factors during the COVID-19 pandemic, they should be carefully monitored in the future.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of Koryo Hand-Acupuncture on health status(pain, trunk flexion, IADL, depression) of patients with chronic low back pain. METHOD: This study used a quasi experimental pre-test and post-test design. Data were collected from December 1st, 2000 to December 20th, 2001. 63 chronic low back pain patients(35 experimental group, 28 control group) admitted to the Back-School and consented to this study. The experimental group participated in treatment : Koryo Hand-Acupuncture and AB-Bong. Two groups was homogeneity. After 4 weeks the effects of treatment on the health status was measured between experimental and control group. Data were analyzed using SPSSWIN 10.0 with crosstab, t-test, and paired t-test. RESULT: In the experimental group, pain(t=4.85, p=.000) and IADL difficulty(t=2.05, p=.045) was significantly lower than those in the control group. It makes no difference trunk flexion(t=-1.60, p=.114) and depression(t=1.50, p=.138) between experimental and control group. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that Koryo-Hand Acupuncture is an effective method for reducing pain and IADL difficulty in patients with chronic low back pain, and is considered as a independent nursing intervention for chronic low back pain.