Impact of sedentary behavior on bodily pain while staying at home in COVID-19 pandemic and potential preventive strategies

Abstract

Novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global health concern. According to the rapid spread of the virus in the world (reported in 115 countries as of March 11, 2020, with 119,239 affected cases and 4,287 deaths), it is cru- cial to implement health policies to flatten the epidemic curve (1). Based on limiting the exposure of people to this virus, safety recommendations have been advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (3). Furthermore, so- cial quarantine, social distancing, and isolation of infected populations have been successfully performed in China and some other countries (4). However, self-isolation of individuals is associated with an increased risk of cardio- vascular, autoimmune, and mental health problems, espe- cially in the elderly. Thus, as it is essential to reduce the spread of the virus in the community, preventive strate- gies should be urgently considered as well, to minimize the health concerns of social or self-isolation plans