Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain Among University Students: a Systematic Review

Arslan Mehmood; Aqsa Majeed; Muhammad Awais Khalid; Hashir Usman Dhami; Muhammad Adil; Muhammad Abdul Sami

doi:10.51253/pafmj.v76i6.14000

Authors

Arslan Mehmood Department of Physical Therapy, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan
Aqsa Majeed Department of Physical Therapy, University of Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Awais Khalid Department of Physical Therapy, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan
Hashir Usman Dhami Department of Physical Therapy, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Adil Department of Physical Therapy, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Abdul Sami Department of Physical Therapy, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v76i6.14000

Keywords:

Low Back Pain, Musculoskeletal Pain, Neck Pain, Posture, University Students.

Abstract

The objective of this review was to summarize the evidence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among university students. PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Clinical Key, ProQuest, Research Gate and Science Direct were scanned to identify relevant studies. MeSH terms (prevalence, musculoskeletal, back pain, neck pain, posture, university students, and online education) and Boolean operators (OR and AND) were also used for search strategy. Only cross-sectional studies published between 2021 and 2025 were included in this review. The extracted data included author's name, year of publication, country of origin, sample size, field of study, tool for MSDs, affected body parts, and prevalence period. A total of 2254 records were identified, out of which 2232 were excluded, and only 22 were included for analysis. All included studies reported that the prevalence of MSP was consistently high among university students. The most common sites of pain were the neck, shoulder, and lower back. Musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent among university students, which clearly indicates that there is an immediate requirement for specific preventive measures and ergonomic awareness programs for this population.

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