Demonstration of the relationship between MSD and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has caught many educational institutions by surprise and warranted an abrupt migration from offline to online learning. This has resulted in an education change, without any time for due consideration, as regards its impact on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on students. The purpose of this study is to investigate MSD related to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate students in India. In total, 261 students participated in this online survey. Findings: The study finds that around 80% of students have reported some symptom in the head, neck and eyes since they started online learning. In total, 58% have reported MSD symptom in the right shoulder and 56% in the right hand fingers. Besides, more than 40 % of students experienced some MSD symptoms, in almost all the body parts studied, due to online learning. Correlation analysis is conducted between time spent on online learning per day and MSD symptoms. Originality/value: This is the first study conducted on MSD and online learning during COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.