Back Pain Prevalence, Intensity, and Associated Risk Factors among Female Teachers in Slovakia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Significant back pain prevalence and intensity are reported in female pedagogues. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been exposed to remote working conditions, higher psychological demands, and stress. Our objective was to evaluate the back pain prevalence, intensity, and related risk factors in female teachers from Slovak regions in the context of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. An electronic questionnaire was applied for data collection. A total of 782 adult female teachers (age 43.11 ± 0.36, BMI 34.94 ± 5.94) from primary, secondary, and tertiary schools from Slovak regions were included in the survey. Of these, 74% reported cervical pain, 67% lower back pain, and 60% pain in more than one vertebral region. The highest pain intensities were reported in the following cohorts (pain scale 1-5, 1 = no pain, and 5 = extreme pain): pedagogues from the Presov region (3.74), those working in the special education sector (3.83), those who gave five online classes a week (3.58), those who performed no physical activity (PA, 3.86), pedagogues who did not work in compliance with ergonomic recommendations (3.59), those with moderate or severe stress (3.66), and those who were sitting all or most of the time (3.62). The main risk factors identified were: no PA performed, no compliance with ergonomic recommendations, and stress.

Relationship Between Air Pollution and the Concentration of Nitric Oxide in the Exhaled Air (FeNO) in 8-9-Year-Old School Children in Krakow.

The consequences of air pollution pose one of the most serious threats to human health, and especially impact children from large agglomerations. The measurement of nitric oxide concentration in exhaled air (FeNO) is a valuable biomarker in detecting and monitoring airway inflammation. However, only a few studies have assessed the relationship between FeNO and the level of air pollution. The study aims to estimate the concentration of FeNO in the population of children aged 8-9 attending the third grade of public primary schools in Krakow, as well as to determine the relationship between FeNO concentration and dust and gaseous air pollutants. The research included 4580 children aged 8-9 years who had two FeNO measurements in the winter-autumn and spring-summer periods. The degree of air pollution was obtained from the Regional Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in Krakow. The concentration of pollutants was obtained from three measurement stations located in different parts of the city. The FeNO results were related to air pollution parameters. The study showed weak but significant relationships between FeNO and air pollution parameters. The most significant positive correlations were found for CO8h (r = 0.1491, p < 0.001), C6H6 (r = 0.1420, p < 0.001), PM10 (r = 0.1054, p < 0.001) and PM2.5 (r = 0.1112, p < 0.001). We suggest that particulate and gaseous air pollutants impact FeNO concentration in children aged 8-9 years. More research is needed to assess the impact of air pollution on FeNO concentration in children. The results of such studies could help to explain the increase in the number of allergic and respiratory diseases seen in children in recent decades.

Evaluation of the effects of a physiotherapy program on quality of life in females after unilateral total knee arthroplasty: a prospective study.

[Purpose] Osteoarthritis is a chronic and degenerative joint disease and is considered to be one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders. This study evaluated the differences in the quality of life of females treated with supervised physiotherapy and a standardized home program after unilateral total knee arthroplasty. [Subjects and Methods] From January 2012 to May 2015, a total of 40 females were examined at the Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberk, Slovakia. Quality of life was assessed with the Short Form-36. Quality of life and intensity of pain after normal daily activity, according to the visual analog scale, were assessed before total knee arthroplasty, immediately after physiotherapy, 3 months after total knee arthroplasty, and 6 months after total knee arthroplasty. [Results] We found statistically significant improvement of the quality of life results and a decreased intensity of pain at each time point compared with before total knee arthroplasty. [Conclusions] The results of this study provide further evidence indicating that patients who undergo total knee arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis of the knee can achieve a significant improvement in the quality of life by using supervised physiotherapy compared with a standardized home program.