Rohit Shishodia

Cases of back pain, spondylosis, posterior intervertebral disc, degenerative spine disease, cervical spondylosis, fibromyalgia (muscular pain) and increase in osteoarthritis rate have almost doubled due to work from home, said Dr Vivek Shankar, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedics, Delhi-AIIMS.

Speaking exclusively to Drug Today Medical Times, Dr Shankar pointed out that work from home is one of the biggest causes for these diseases.

“It is the biggest risk factor for triggering these diseases among the productive population. During normal times, this group of population was physically active both in office and home. This movement was suddenly hampered, which triggered different health issues,” Dr Shankar stressed.  

“In offices, you have certain work timings but when working from home your work timings can even be extended, which restricts the physical movements. Similarly online classes curbed children’s physical activities, thereby triggering health issues in them,” Dr Shankar explained.

“Most homes lack office-like structure where one can work with ease. While working at home, people were forced to work under cramped conditions for long hours,” he emphasised.

Dr Shankar said that increased use of laptops coupled with improper postures led to development of different health conditions such as back and neck pain and muscle cramps. These problems mostly could be seen among the 25-60 years age group.

"The physical activities of children, who used to walk and play in morning and evening, was hampered too. Even their growth was affected. Those who were taking online classes, complained of back and neck pain. They suffered from deficiencies of calcium and vitamin D," he further informed.

"Most of the elders above 60 years of age with existing health conditions suffered during lockdown. They could not exercise thus resulting in weight gain and joint pains. Cases of degenerative spine surgeries also increased due to lockdown," Dr Shankar.